Trade surplus reaches record high in nine months and a half

Vietnam recorded 361.5 billion USD in foreign trade by mid-September this year with trade surplus hitting a record high of 14.5 billion USD, 1 billion USD higher than the eight-month figure.

Exports exceeded 12.6 billion USD in the first half of September, raising the total value of shipments since the beginning of this year to approximately 188 billion USD, according to the General Department of Customs.

Four groups of commodity enjoyed more than 1 billion USD in export revenue from September 1 – 15. Phones and parts  led the way with nearly 2.33 billion USD, bringing the 9.5-month figure to 33.9 billion USD. It was followed by computers, electronics and components (2.2 billion USD), textile and garment (1.37 billion USD) and machinery, equipment and tools (1.22 billion USD).

Meanwhile, imports totalled nearly 11.7 billion USD during the first half of September and 173.5 billion USD this year to mid-September.

Last year, the country’s trade surplus reached 9.9 billion USD, the highest level seen over the past four years, after 1.6 billion USD in 2016; 1.9 billion USD in 2017 and 6.8 billion USD in 2018.

During the year, overseas shipments earned the country 263.45 billion USD, up 8.1 percent year-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 the Vietnamese-invested sector compared to foreign invested sector./