Vietnam’s export earnings grew by 14.8 percent to US$262.44 billion in the first seven months of this year, while its import turnover rose by 17.9 percent to US$252.26 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of US$10.18 billion, the National Statistics Office (NSO) reported on August 6.
The country's total import-export turnover reached US$514.7 billion in the period, marking an increase of 16.3 percent year-on-year.
The domestic economic sector posted a growth rate of 6.7 percent to US$67.48 billion in exports, while the foreign-invested sector, including crude oil, increased by 17.9 percent to US$194.96 billion.
The exports of processed industrial goods stood at US$232.37 billion, accounting for 88.6 percent of the total export turnover. Agricultural and forestry products reached US$22.4 billion, accounting for 8.5 percent; aquatic products US$6.08 billion or 2.3 percent; and fuel and mineral products US$1.59 billion, making up 0.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the imports of production materials were estimated at US$236.57 billion, making up 93.8 percent of the total import turnover. Consumer goods hit US$15.69 billion, accounting for 6.2 percent.
Vietnam ran a trade surplus of US$2.3 billion with the EU in the first seven months, marking a 9.9 percent increase year-on-year, while the surplus with Japan rose 21 percent to US$1.3 billion.
China remained Vietnam’s largest import market in the preriod, with turnover reaching US$101.5 billion. Vietnam recorded a trade deficit of US$66.5 billion with the neighboring country, up 41.1 percent year-on-year.
The trade deficit with the Republic of Korea stood at US$17.4 billion, slightly down 0.2 percent, while the deficit with ASEAN rose sharply by 63 percent to US$8.5 billion.
