The value is nearly $50 billion higher than last year.
With the monthly import and export value reaches over $30 billion as currently, industry insiders estimated that the $100 billion target of import and export revenue for the last quarter of this year is feasible.
According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, Vietnam’s import-export value in the first nine months of this year rose 21.4 percent year-on-year to $308.51 billion. Until mid November last year, Vietnam’s trade revenue could reach the threshold of $300 billion. 
In January-September, export value reached $154.3 billion, up 19.8 percent year-on-year, while spending nearly $154 billion for imports, representing a yearly increase 22.7 percent, the data showed.

Vietnam’s export value reached $154.3 billion in the first nine months, up 19.8 percent year-on-year.

As such, Vietnam achieved a trade surplus of $328 million in the first nine months.
The trade surplus was a positive signal as the country often reported high trade deficit in recent years.
During the period, Vietnamese firms gained $43.2 billion from exports, up 16.8 percent while foreign-invested firms raked $110.8 billion, an increase of 21 percent.
Key export staples in the period included telephone and components with $30.99 billion, up 21.4 percent; textiles and garments ($19.26 billion, up 8.6 percent); computers, electronics and components ($18.46 billion, up 40.8 percent) beside to footwear ($10.6 billion, up 12.7 percent) and machines, equipment and parts ($9.33 billion, up 30.1 percent).
 As for imports, the nine-month saw Vietnamese firms made up $61.3 billion, up 18,7 percent while foreign-invested firms contributed $93.2 billion, an increase of over 26 percent.
Major products which recorded strong import value in the period included computers, electronics and components with $25.84 billion, up 28.3 percent; machines, equipment and parts ($27.02 billion, up 33 percent); cloths ($8.25 billion, up 8.7 percent); telephone and components ($10.65 billion, up 41.3 percent), in addition to steel ($6.81 billion, up 16.1 percent) and plastic ($5.43 billion, up 21.4 percent).
Tran Thanh Hai, deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Import-Export Department, said that Vietnam has experienced stable export growth in the processing industry, including computer and computer components, telephones and their components, transportation means, furniture and footwear.
“These products are expected to maintain a high growth rate towards the year-end,” he said.
Besides, he said, agriculture and aquatic products, including shrimp and fish, are likely to maintain steady growth as they have done in previous years.
“Rice exports will increase further by the year-end after many years of decline because of pricing and other market difficulties. There has been a recovery since early this year, and this is set to continue,” Hai said, adding that fruits and vegetables will also see stable export growth towards the end of the year.
For the sustainable development of exports in the next year, Hai said that Vietnam must improve the quality of export products, because behind this growth lies stable production, stable socio-economic development in remote areas and improvement of living standards. Therefore, the national orientation for developing imports and exports in the coming years will be based on these objectives.
Vietnamese firms have also, for the most part, processed products at low-value stages in the supply chain. Instead, they should focus on creating brand value for higher profits, he said.