
Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam recorded 361.5 billion USD in foreign trade bymid-September this year with trade surplus hitting a record high of 14.5billion USD, 1 billion USD higher than the eight-month figure.
Exportsexceeded 12.6 billion USD in the first half of September, raising the total valueof shipments since the beginning ofthis year to approximately 188 billion USD, according to the General Departmentof Customs.
Four groups ofcommodity enjoyed more than 1 billion USD in export revenue from September 1 –15. Phones and parts led the way withnearly 2.33 billion USD, bringing the 9.5-month figure to 33.9 billion USD. Itwas followed by computers, electronics and components (2.2 billion USD),textile and garment (1.37 billion USD) and machinery, equipment and tools (1.22billion USD).
Meanwhile,imports totalled nearly 11.7 billion USD during the first half ofSeptember and 173.5 billion USD thisyear to mid-September.
Last year, thecountry’s trade surplus reached 9.9 billion USD, the highest level seen overthe past four years, after 1.6 billion USD in 2016; 1.9 billion USD in 2017 and6.8 billion USD in 2018.
During theyear, overseas shipments earned the country 263.45 billion USD, up 8.1 percentyear-on-year. Import revenue experienced a modest yearly increase of 7 percent,reaching 253.51 billion USD.
Foreign trade surpassed the 500-billion-USD mark for first time in 2019, witnessing the stronger growth of theVietnamese-invested sector compared to foreign invested sector./.