Vietnam posts record trade surplus in first half

ABO/VNA - Vietnam enjoyed a trade surplus of 3.37 billion USD in the first two quarters of 2018, the highest level over the last five years.

Tan Vu port in Hai Phong city (Source: baohaiquan.vn).

According to the General Department of Customs, the country’s export turnover increased by 16.3 percent year-on-year to 114.2 billion USD in the reviewed period.

Twenty commodities have posted export revenue of over 1 billion USD so far. They included phones and components (22.5 billion USD); computers, electronic products and components (13.45 billion USD); textile-garment (13.42 billion USD); machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts (7.8 billion USD); and footwear (7.79 billion USD).

In terms of imports, the country spent 110.83 billion USD on importing goods from January to June, up by 9.6 percent.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), domestic businesses reported a 19.9-percent rise in their exports by shipping 33.07 billion USD worth of goods abroad over the first half. Meanwhile, FDI enterprises earned 80.86 billion USD from exports, up 14.5 percent in the corresponding period last year.

The ministry said there are many favourable conditions for export throughout the rest of the year.

Agricultural and fishery exports often increase in the middle and peak at the end of each year. Industrial products with big export revenues, like textile-garment, footwear, and wood products, have entered their export season since the second quarter, it noted.

Additionally, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, expected to take effect in 2019, have been already been catalysts for foreign direct investment that could help Vietnam further boost its production capacity, it added.

The ministry forecast this year’s exports at 236.6 billion USD, up 10 percent against 2017.

(Source: VNA)