In the first eight months of 2020, Vietnam’s trade surplus reached an all-time high of US$13.5 billion, representing a 150% increase compared to the same period of last year (US$5.47 billion), according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC).

Data: GDVC. Chart: Nguyen Tung.

The figure also far exceeded the estimated US$11.9 billion from the General Statistics Office for the period and the unprecedented trade surplus of US$11.12 billion last year.

In August, Vietnam’s exports rose 11.4% month-on-month to US$27.7 billion, while imports increased 2.8% to US$22.7 billion.

Overall, between January and August, Vietnam’s total export value topped US$175.36 billion, up 2.3% year-on-year, and total import value was US$161.9 billion, down 2.4%.

Six groups of export staples with turnover above US$1 billion in August included phones and parts with US$5.35 billion, up 24.8% month-on-month; computers, electronic products and parts with US$4.2 billion, up 3.4%; textile with US$2.97 billion, down 2.5%; machinery and equipment with US$2.7 billion, up 17.6%; footwear with US$1.4 billion, up 1%; wood and wooden products with US$1.15 billion, up 1.9%.

For the January – August period, phones and parts earned the largest export turnover of US$31.6 billion, down 5.4% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, Vietnam spent most on importing computers, electronic products and parts with over US$6 billion last month, up 7.6% month-on-month, accumulating a total of US$38.75 billion in the eight-month period, or an increase of 15.6% year-on-year.