Vietnam reported an estimated trade deficit of US$800 million in January, standing in stark contrast with a trade surplus of US$181 million recorded in the same period last year, the General Statistics Office (GSO) has said in a monthly report.
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In January, Vietnam exported goods worth US$20 billion, up 1.9% month-on-month but down 1.3% year-on-year, while import turnover reached US$20.80 billion, up 1.7% month-on-month and 3.1% year-on-year.
According to the report, revenues of major staples in January saw sharp declines compared to the same period of the previous year, including phones and accessories with US$2.9 billion, down 27.5%; camera and parts US$450 million, down 9.1%; electronic products, computers and components US$2.3 billion, a decline of 5%.
Meanwhile, other items experienced increases in export turnover. That of garment climbed 6.7% year-on-year to US$2.7 billion, equipment, parts US$1.4 billion, up 15.2%; and footwear US$1.6 billion, up 12.8%.
Additionally, Vietnamese fishery exports climbed 5.2% year-on-year to US$700 million.
In the January, the US remained Vietnam's biggest export market, spending US$4 billion on Vietnamese goods, up 11.8% year-on-year, followed by China with US$3.8 billion, up 3.2%, and the European Union (EU) US$3.2 billion, down 7.3%.
Meanwhile, China remained Vietnam's largest import market in January with turnover of US$6.1 billion, a 6% climb year-on-year.
South Korea claimed the second place by exporting US$4.1 billion worth of goods to Vietnam, down 5.8% year-on-year, followed by ASEAN with US$2.8 billion, up 3.7%.
Vietnam reported a trade surplus of US$6.8 billion in 2018, 3.2 times the figure recorded in 2017, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC).
In 2018, Vietnam’s trade turnover reached US$480.17 billion, up 12.2% year-on-year or US$52.05 billion, taking the combined value of Vietnam’s exports and imports to 196% of GDP.
The GDVC estimated that if Vietnam’s trade value increases by 5% year-on-year in 2019, the country could reach the US$500-billion mark in trade turnover for the first time in the fourth quarter of 2019.
