HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City’s foreign trade totalled more than 60.48 billion USD in the first eight months of this year, down 0.03 percent against the same period of 2019.

In the January-August period, the southern economic hub shipped 28.4 billion USD worth of goods abroad, up 4 percent year-on-year. Excluding crude oil, exports reached 27.8 billion USD, up 5.8 percent year-on-year.

Shipments of industrial goods rose 5.6 percent year-on-year to 19.65 billion USD, contributing the largest share to the total, at 78.1 percent. Computers, electronics and components made up 45.2 percent of the total, growing 26.2 percent to over 11.2 billion USD. Meanwhile, textiles-garment and footwear posted sharp declines of 20.4 percent and 12 percent, respectively.

Exports of agricultural products exceeded 2.34 billion USD, down 0.6 percent year-on-year, with rice shipments worth 705.8 million USD, up 14.2 percent. Conversely, exports of rubber nosedived 42.6 percent to 222.8 million USD.

China remained HCM City’s largest customer during the reviewed period, importing more than 6.84 billion USD, up 35.5 percent from a year earlier and representing 26.2 percent of the total. It was followed by the US and Japan.

The city’s imports were valued at over 32 billion USD in the period, down 2.8 percent. Main import items included machinery and components, and consumer goods./.