Vietnam Earns US$196.84 Bln from Import-Export in Five Months

Vietnam’s exports have gradually improved since the middle of April 2020 as European countries started to reopen the economy.

According to the General Statistics Office, Vietnam’s import and export value was estimated at US$196.84 billion in the first five months of 2020, down 2.8% year on year, of which the export value accounted for US$99.36 billion, down 1.7% and the import value sank 3.8% to US$97.48 billion. The country ran a trade surplus of US$1.9 billion.

In the first five months, 17 commodities brought home more than US$1 billion each, accounting for 82% of the nation’s total export value. Specifically, the country earned US$18 billion from telephones and components, down 8.8%; US$15.3 billion from electronics, computers and components, up 22.1%; US$10.4 billion from textiles and garments, down 14.5%; US$8.5 billion from machinery, equipment and spare parts, up 25%; US$6.8 billion from footwear, down 4.8%; and US$4 billion from wooden products.

By market, the United States was Vietnam's largest export market in the first five months of 2020 with a turnover of US$24.6 billion, up 8.2% year on year. China was the second largest export market for Vietnam with US$16.3 billion, up 20.1%, followed by the European Union with US$12.9 billion, down 12%; ASEAN with US$9.4 billion, down 13.4%; Japan with US$8.1 billion, up 2.2%; and South Korea with US$7.7 billion, down 0.5%.

By Ha Thu, Vietnam Business Forum