Vietnam recorded a trade surplus of over US$4 billion in trade surplus in just 30 days, resulting in a surplus of US$10.08 billion in the year to August 15, a surge of 67% from US$6.02 billion on July 15, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC).

Data: GDVC. Chart: Nguyen Tung.

This put Vietnam in a strong position to surpass the record trade surplus figure of US$11.12 billion in 2019 with four months left for the year.

In the first fortnight of August, the country reported a surplus of US$1.69 billion, with exports at US$12.68 billion, up 16.2% compared to the previous 15 days, and imports at US$10.99 billion, up 4.9%.

As of August 15, Vietnam’s trade turnover slid 0.4% year-on-year to US$310.41 billion, in which exports made up US$160.24 billion and imports of US$150.16 billion. During the period, foreign-invested firms produced a trade surplus of US$19.78 billion.

Among Vietnam’s key export staples, phones and parts earned the largest export turnover during the first half of August with US$2.58 billion; followed by computers, electronic products and parts (US$1.9 billion); textile (US$1.36 billion); and machinery, equipment and parts (US$1.11 billion).

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) in its socio-economic development plan for the 2021 – 2025 period predicted the country’s exports to expand at an annual growth rate of 5% and reach a turnover of US$340 billion by 2025.

Meanwhile, imports during the 2021 – 2025 would expand at an annual rate of 4.9% to US$330 billion by 2025, resulting in a trade surplus of around US$10 billion at that time, while import growth of domestic enterprises is set at 6% per year.