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Sep 30, 2019 / 13:27

Vietnam trade surplus expands to US$5.9 billion in Jan-Sep

Vietnam`s trade turnover reached US$382.72 billion in the January – September period, of which its export value amounted to US194.3 billion, up 8.2% year-on-year, and imports totaled US$188.42 billion, up 8.9%.

Vietnam reported an estimated trade surplus of US$0.5 billion in September, leading to a surplus of US$5.9 billion in the first nine months this year, the General Statistics Office (GSO) has said in a monthly report.
 
Data: GSO. Graphic: Nguyen Tung.
Data: GSO. Graphic: Nguyen Tung.
On breaking down, the domestic sector reported a trade deficit of US$19.4 billion in the nine-month period, while foreign-invested firms posted a trade surplus of US$25.3 billion. The former’s exports expanded 16.5% to US$59.57 billion during the period, accounting for 30.7% of total exports. Meanwhile, FDI firms reaped US$134.73 billion from overseas shipments, up 5% and accounting for 69.3% of the total (down 2.1 percentage points year-on-year).

In September, Vietnam exported goods worth US$23 billion, down 11.1% inter-monthly, while imports reached US$22.5 billion, up 0.2%.

Overall, Vietnam's trade turnover reached US$382.72 billion in the January – September period, of which its export value amounted to US194.3 billion, up 8.2% year-on-year, and imports totaled US$188.42 billion, up 8.9%.
 
Data: GSO. Graphic: Nguyen Tung.
Data: GSO. Graphic: Nguyen Tung.
According to the report, Vietnam's export staples during the January - September period were electronic products, computers and components with US$25.4 billion, up 16.9% year-on-year; garment with US$24.8 billion, up 10.4%; footwear with US$13.3 billion, up 13.5%; equipment, parts with US$12.9 billion, up 7.5%; wood and furniture with US$7.5 billion, up 17%; vehicles and parts with US$6.4 billion, up 8.1%. 

Phones and parts recorded the highest export turnover of US$38.6 billion, accounting for 19.9% of total exports and up 5.1% year-on-year. 

In the January – September period, the US remained Vietnam's biggest export market, spending US$44.9 billion on Vietnamese goods, up 28.2% year-on-year, followed by the European Union with US$31.1 billion, down 0.7%, and China with US$27.8 billion, down 3.8%. 

Meanwhile, China remained Vietnam's largest import market with turnover of US$55.5 billion, a 17.3% climb year-on-year. 

South Korea claimed the second place by exporting US$35.4 billion worth of goods to Vietnam, up 1% year-on-year, followed by ASEAN with US$24.1 billion, up 3.8%.