The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) projected that Vietnam's exports would total US$156.5 billion in the first five months of 2024, up 15% from the same period last year.

Nam Cau Kien Ecological Industrial Park in the northern city of Haiphong. Photo: Nam Cau Kien Ecological Industrial Park

The MoIT emphasized that the agency will continue to strongly support businesses in maximizing export opportunities from free trade agreements (FTAs), while proactively coordinating with other ministries and sectors to expedite negotiations and signing of new FTAs with other potential partners. 

Exports to most markets have seen strong growth,  especially those with which Vietnam has signed free trade agreements. From January to April, exports to ASEAN grew by 10.5%, to Japan by 3.3%, to South Korea by 8.6%, to the EU by 15.1%, and to Australia by 22.6%, according to the report. 

Trade was seen as a key pillar of Vietnam's 2023 upgrade of its Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with China and the US. In the first four months, exports to China rose 12.8% to $17 billion, while exports to the US jumped 21.2% to $34.7 billion. 

The MoIT's Import-Export Department reports that domestic and foreign-invested sectors recorded good export growth in January-April. Compared with the same period last year, the domestic group grew at a faster rate of 22.8% than the foreign-invested group's 12.4%. 

In addition, exports of the agricultural and aquatic products group achieved high growth (25.7% over the same period last year). Within this group, aquatic products reached $2.7 billion, up 5.8%; fruits and vegetables amounted to $1.9 billion, up 38.1%; and coffee totaled $2.5 billion, up 53.4%. Exports of agricultural products have contributed to the positive growth of the domestic business sector. 

Major industrial export goods recovered strongly during this period. Wood and wood products were up 25%; textiles and garments up 6.7%; footwear up 7.2%; various iron and steel products up 28.1%; computers, electronic products and components up 33.9%; and phones of all kinds up 5%. 

In the first four months of 2024, Vietnam's total import-export turnover reached nearly $239 billion, up 15.1%, representing an increase of $31.4 billion compared to the same period last year. Among them, exports reached $124 billion and imports amounted to $115 billion. 

The report shows that Vietnam maintained a trade surplus of $9 billion in January-April. These indicators have shown positive growth, reflecting the recovery trend of import-export activities, the import-export department stressed.