70th anniversary of Hanoi's Liberation Day Vietnam - Asia 2023 Smart City Summit Hanoi celebrates 15 years of administrative boundary adjustment 12th Vietnam-France decentrialized cooperation conference 31st Sea Games - Vietnam 2021 Covid-19 Pandemic
Home / Economy / Trade - Service
Vietnam trade surplus narrows to US$1.9 billion in Jan-May
Ngoc Thuy 08:06, 2020/06/01
Vietnam's trade turnover is likely to have reached US$196.84 billion in the first five months, down 2.8% year-on-year.

Vietnam reported an estimated trade deficit of US$900 million in May, causing its the trade surplus to narrow to US$1.9 billion in the January – May period, the General Statistics Office (GSO) has said in a monthly report.

 Data: GSO. Chart: Ngoc Thuy. 

On breaking down, the domestic sector is estimated to post a trade deficit of US$8.6 billion in the five-month period while foreign-invested firms recorded a trade surplus of US$10.5 billion.

Domestic companies' exports are estimated to have expanded 10.4% year-on-year to US$33.3 billion during the period, accounting for 33.5% of the country's exports. Meanwhile, FDI firms reaped US$66.06 billion from overseas shipments, down 6.9% and accounting for 66.5% of the total.

In May, Vietnam exported goods worth an estimated US$18.5 billion, up 5.2% inter-monthly, while imports are estimated to have increased by 4.7% to US$19.4 billion.

The complicated progression of the Covid-19 pandemic in Vietnam’s major markets continued to exert negative impacts on the country’s trading activities, noted the GSO.

 Data: GSO. Chart: Ngoc Thuy. 

Overall, Vietnam's trade turnover is likely to have slipped 2.8% year-on-year to reach US$196.84 billion in the January – May period, of which its export value could amount to US$99.36 billion, down 1.7% year-on-year, and imports are estimated at US$97.48 billion, down 3.8%.

Among Vietnam’s key export staples, phones and parts are predicted to earn the largest export turnover during the January-May period at US$18 billion, down 8.8% year-on-year and accounting for 18.11% of Vietnam’s total exports.

In addition, electronic products, computers and components earned an estimated US$15.3 billion, up 22.1% year-on-year; garments (US$10.4 billion and -14.5%); equipment and parts (US$8.5 billion and +25%); footwear (US$6.8 billion and -4.8%); wood and wooden products (US$4 billion, unchanged from the value recorded in the same period last year); transportation vehicles (US$3.1 billion and -12.2%); fishery (US$2.8 billion and-10.3%), among others.

In the January – May period, the US remained Vietnam's biggest export market, spending US$24.6 billion on Vietnamese goods, up 8.2% year-on-year, followed by China (US$16.3 billion, up 20.1%), and the EU (US$12.9 billion, down 12%). 

Meanwhile, China continued to be Vietnam's largest supplier, selling US$28.9 billion worth of goods to Vietnam, down 3% year-on-year. 

South Korea claimed the second place by exporting US$17.3 billion worth of goods to Vietnam, down 9.5% year-on-year, followed by ASEAN countries with US$11.8 billion, down 14.1%. 

RELATED NEWS
TAG: Vietnam trade surplus covid-19 coronavirus nCoV pandemic 5 months United States China South Korea Japan Singapore
Other news
20:36, 2024/03/25
Vietnam seeks to strengthen ties with Finland
Vietnam remains a key partner for Finland in ASEAN.
18:15, 2024/03/21
Vietnam urged to soon implement PDP VIII
Ensuring an attractive investment environment "capable of mobilizing capital" is crucial to attracting long-term investment in infrastructure development.
15:41, 2024/03/21
Argentina seeks to elevate ties with Vietnam to strategic partnership
Both sides would continue to accelerate the process of negotiating and concluding the Vietnam-MERCOSUR Free Trade Agreement.
20:36, 2024/03/20
Vietnamese Gov’t to strengthen gold market management
Authorities must strictly enforce laws against gold smuggling, speculation, manipulation, and exploiting government policies to inflate gold prices, posing risks to market stability and safety.
15:06, 2024/03/20
South Korea to increase ODA by 50% to Vietnam in 2024
South Korea is the leading investor in Vietnam with a cumulative total of $86 billion.
13:50, 2024/03/20
Vietnam a priority for Dutch businesses in Southeast Asia
The Netherlands has become Vietnam's largest investor, the second-largest trading partner, and export market in Europe.