Vietnam’s export value saw a year-on-year increase of nearly 5 percent to an estimated USD 82.94 billion in the first four months of this year despite the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
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| Cargo containers are loaded at My Thoi Port in the southern province of An Giang__Photo: VNA |
Domestic companies generated USD 26.45 billion from exports during the period, rising 12 percent year-on-year and making up 32 percent of the country’s total export earnings. Meanwhile, exports of foreign-invested firms hit USD 56.49 billion, up 1.5 percent and making up 68 percent of the total.
Fifteen groups of products recorded an export value of over USD 1 billion or equivalent to 80 percent of the nation’s four-month total earnings. Of them, phones and parts earned the largest export turnover with USD 16.2 billion, up 1.1 percent year-on-year and accounting for 19.5 percent of the total exports. Electronics, computers and components came next with USD 12.4 billion, up 29 percent year-on-year, followed by textile and garments (USD 8.9 billion, down 6 percent); equipment and parts (USD 6.9 billion, up 30 percent); and footwear (USD 5.5 billion, up 1.3 percent).
Other staples with high export value included wood and wooden products (USD 3.4 billion, up 10 percent); transportation vehicles (USD 2.7 billion, down 4 percent); seafood (USD 2.2 billion, down 8.5 percent); plastic-made goods (USD 1.1 billion, up 1.3 percent) and products made of steel and iron (USD 1.03 billion, up 2 percent).
From January to April, the US remained Vietnam’s biggest export market, spending USD 20.3 billion on Vietnamese goods, a yearly hike of 13.4 percent. It was followed by China with USD 13.1 billion, up 27 percent; the EU with USD 10.7 billion, down 8.1 percent and ASEAN nations with USD 8.2 billion, down 3.4 percent, the GSO said in a monthly report.
Per the report, the country’s imports expanded 2.1 percent year-on-year to an estimated USD 79.89 billion in the period. Domestic firms spent USD 33.6 billion on imports, up 1 percent year-on-year while foreign-invested companies saw a yearly turnover rise of 3 percent to USD 46.31 billion.
Electronics, computers and components accounted for 22 percent of the nation’s four-month imports at USD 17.8 billion, up 13 percent over the same period last year. Among others were machinery, equipment and parts at USD 11.5 billion, down 0.1 percent; telephones and parts (USD 4.3 billion, up 12 percent); cloth (USD 3.6 billion, down 11 percent); steel and iron (USD 2.9 billion, down 6.5 percent); automotive (USD 1.9 billion, down 23 percent) and crude oil (USD 1.8 billion, up 35 percent).
China was Vietnam’s largest supplier, selling USD 22.7 billion worth of goods to Vietnam, down 0.1 percent year-on-year. South Korea ranked second by shipping USD 15.5 billion worth of goods to Vietnam, up 3 percent year-on-year, followed by ASEAN countries with USD 9.9 billion, down 8 percent.
According to the GSO’s report, Vietnam’s trade surplus narrowed to USD 3 billion in January-April from the USD 3.74 billion recorded a month ago.- (VNS/VLLF)
