Vietnam’s trade outlook for the remainder of the year is projected to have intertwined challenges and opportunities, with the country’s efforts to contain the pandemic the most important factor.
Potential disruption of supply chains as a result of the pandemic is making it hard for local enterprises to fulfill their contractual obligation to partners.
Computers, electronic products, and parts have been the group of products with the highest import value since 2017.
The foreign-invested sector made up 76.4% of Vietnam’s total exports in the first two months with US$37.07 billion, representing an increase of 30.5% year-on-year.
Vietnam exported products and goods to over 80 markets in Tet holiday, with China being the largest buyer by spending US$189 million on Vietnamese commodities, or 26% of total exports.
In 2021, the trade ministry eyes an increase of 4-5% in trade turnover from an estimated US$543.9 billion last year.
The US$300-billion export target set in early 2020 remains challenging, requiring not only strong efforts from local enterprises, but also the recovery of global demand amid complicated Covid-19 situation.
Vietnam's trade turnover is likely to have reached US$440.09 billion in the January–October period, up 2.7% year-on-year.
The record US$13.5 billion trade surplus in the eight-month period far exceeded the unprecedented figure of US$11.12 billion last year.
A trade surplus of US$10.08 billion as of August 15 puts Vietnam in a strong position to surpass the record figure of US$11.12 billion in 2019.