Vietnam trade turnover in the first two months of 2021 surged 24.6% year-on-year, or nearly US$19 billion) to US$95.85 billion, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC).

Smartphones production at Samsung Vietnam. Photo: Thanh Hai

Upon breaking down, the country’s exports increased by 23.7% year-on-year during the two-month period to US$48.74 billion, or US$9.35 billion, while imports also rose by 25.5% to US$47.11 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of US$1.64 billion for the period.

Foreign-invested firms continued to serve as the main driver for Vietnam’s trade by making up 71.4% of total trade turnover with US$68.52 billion, up 31.5% year-on-year, while that of the domestic sector rose by 10.1% to US$27.33 billion, or 28.6% of the total.

Phones and parts posted the largest export turnover among export items during the January-February period with US$9.3 billion, up 22.8% year-on-year and accounting for 19.2% of Vietnam’s total exports.

In addition, electronic products, computers and components earned an estimated US$6.9 billion, up 27.3% year-on-year; equipment and parts with US$5.5 billion, up 72.6%; and garments with US$4.8 billion, down 0.01%.

In the two-month period, the US, China, EU, ASEAN and South Korea remained Vietnam’s five largest export markets.

Meanwhile, China continued to be Vietnam's largest supplier, selling US$17.3 billion worth of goods to Vietnam, up 85.7% year-on-year. South Korea claimed the second place by exporting US$8.4 billion worth of goods to Vietnam, up 6.7% year-on-year, followed by ASEAN countries with US$5.6 billion, up 18.5%.