The garment and textile sector earned 16.52 billion USD during January-July. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – A surge in exports pushed Vietnam’s trade surplus to 2.85 billion USD in the first seven months of this year, reported the General Department of Vietnam Customs.
Vietnam saw a trade deficit of 2.61 billion USD the same time last year, according to the department.
The country’s export turnover increased 16 percent year on year to 134.51 billion USD during the January-July pẻiod, of which the foreign direct investment (FDI) sector contributed 94.2 billion USD, up 15.9 percent from the same time last year, occupying 70 percent of the total export value.
Phones and components topped the list with export turnover of 26.48 billion USD, up 17.4 percent year on year. Shipments to the EU were worth 7.79 billion USD, up 16.5 percent, while those to China, the US, the Republic of Korea, and the United Arab Emirates were valued at 2.86 billion USD, 2.74 billion USD, 2.63 billion USD and 2.45 billion USD, respectively.
Meanwhile, the garment and textile sector earned 16.52 billion USD, 16 percent more than the same time in 2017. The US continued to be the largest importer, buying 7.69 billion USD of Vietnamese garments, followed by the EU with 2.23 billion USD, Japan with 2.05 billion USD and the Republic of Korea with 1.57 billion USD.
Meanwhile, Vietnam imported 131.66 billion USD worth of products in the seven months, growing 11.1 percent year on year.
Imports were mainly commodities serving production for exports, including computers, electronics and components (23.15 billion USD, up 13.9 percent), phones and spare parts (7.39 billion USD, down 0.6 percent), fabric (7.39 billion USD, up 14.4 percent) and steel (5.8 billion USD, up 10.4 percent).
Dramatic hikes were seen in imports of coal (increasing 71.6 percent), steel scraps (56.9 percent), metal (35.6 percent), fibre (33 percent) and oil and gasoline (31.6 percent).-VNA
VNA
