Vietnam posts trade deficit of 16.65 billion USD in first six months

Overall, total trade turnover in the first six months of 2026 stood at 549.69 billion USD, up 27.1% compared with the same period last year, of which exports rose 21% and imports increased 33.4%.

Container ships unloading goods at Quy Nhon Port - the main import and export gateway for goods from the Central Highlands, and the starting point in Gia Lai province's logistics system (Photo: VNA)
Container ships unloading goods at Quy Nhon Port - the main import and export gateway for goods from the Central Highlands, and the starting point in Gia Lai province's logistics system (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s total import-export turnover in June reached 104.22 billion USD, up 5.2% month-on-month and 36.3% year-on-year, according to a socio-economic report for the second quarter and first half of 2026 released on July 3 by the National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Finance.

Overall, total trade turnover in the first six months of 2026 stood at 549.69 billion USD, up 27.1% compared with the same period last year, of which exports rose 21% and imports increased 33.4%.

The figures reflect rising input demand in the economy, while also indicating a strong recovery in production activities, particularly in the foreign-invested sector, said Nguyen Thu Oanh, head of the Statistics Division for Services and Prices at the NSO.

In June alone, export turnover stood at 50.79 billion USD, up 8.2% from the previous month. The domestic economic sector contributed 10.01 billion USD, up 10.5%, while the foreign-invested sector (including crude oil) reached 40.78 billion USD, up 7.7%. Compared with the same period last year, June exports rose 28.1%.

In the second quarter, export turnover hit 143.6 billion USD, up 22.7% year-on-year and 16.8% quarter-on-quarter.

For the first half of 2026, total export turnover reached 266.52 billion USD, up 21% year-on-year. The domestic sector accounted for 53.51 billion USD, up 4.6% and making up 20.1% of total exports, while the foreign-invested sector (including crude oil) generated d 213.01 billion USD, up 26%, accounting for 79.9%.

During the period, 29 export items recorded a turnover of above 1 billion USD, accounting for 92.1% of total exports, including five items exceeding 10 billion USD and making up 62.6%.

In terms of structure, processed industrial goods dominated exports with 239.8 billion USD (90%), followed by agricultural and forestry products at 19.23 billion USD (7.2%), seafood at 5.76 billion USD (2.2%), and fuels and minerals at 1.73 billion USD (0.6%).

On the import side, June import turnover reached 53.43 billion USD, up 2.5% month-on-month and 45.2% year-on-year. Imports in the second quarter reached 156.6 billion USD, up 39.1% year-on-year.

Total imports in the first six months amounted to 283.17 billion USD, up 33.4% year-on-year, including 78.46 billion USD from the domestic sector (up 24.3%) and 204.71 billion USD from the foreign-invested sector (up 37.3%).

There were 38 import items with turnover exceeding 1 billion USD, accounting for 92.1% of total imports, including two items exceeding 10 billion USD and making up 51%.

Capital goods accounted for 94.1% of total imports (266.4 billion USD), with machinery, equipment and tools making up 56% and raw materials 38.1%. Consumer goods accounted for 5.9%, worth 16.77 billion USD.

Preliminary data show Vietnam recorded a trade deficit of 16.65 billion USD in the first half of 2026, compared with a surplus of 7.95 billion USD in the same period last year. The domestic sector posted a deficit of 24.95 billion USD, while the foreign-invested sector (including crude oil) recorded a surplus of 8.3 billion USD./.

VNA

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