While the domestic sector faces a trade deficit of US$13.1 billion, the foreign direct investment (FDI) sector enjoys a trade surplus of nearly US$14 billion as it was mainly focused on manufacturing and assembling products with low added values.

Exporting Phone Handsets and Components

According to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO), the country has achieved US$132.2 billion in export revenue, up 15.4% from last year’s figure.

The largest earner is the FDI sector with the lion’s share of the total export volume of electronics, computers and components, garments and footwear.

Vietnam’s largest export market is the EU estimated at US$20.4 billion, (up 24.4%), followed by the US at US$23.7 billion, (up 20.3%) and ASEAN at US$18.5 billion, (up 6.3%).

Importing Machinery and Equipment

In the meantime, imports hit US$131.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 15.4%, with the domestic sector accounting for US$56.8 billion, (up 5.6%) and the FDI sector, US$74.5 billion (up 24.2%).

GSO General Director Nguyen Bich Lam says there has been a change in the demand for imports as the country wants to process semi-products of low added value and then export them to other countries.

Products of high import value include machinery and equipment and tools estimated at US$18.6 billion, (up 16%), electronics, computers and components at US$17.7 billion (up 34.9%), cotton at US $8.4 billion (up 19.4%), phone handsets and components at US$8 billion (up 59.5%), plastics at US$5.7 billion (up 18.9%), garment and footwear materials at US $3.7 billion, (up 18.7%) and animal food and materials at US$3 billion (up 23.6%).

Vietnam’s largest import market is China accounting for US$36.8 billion (up 26.7%), followed by ASEAN, US$21.4 billion (up 2.8%), the Republic of Korea, US$20.8 billion (up 34.1%), Japan, US$11.6 billion (up 0.18%), the EU, US$9.2 billion (up 4.2%) and finally the US, US$5.1 billion (up 6.1%).

Most notably, of its total import value, input materials for production account for US$131.3 billion.