The nation’s bilateral trade with India during the 11 months of the year recorded a decline of 14.45% to US$8.82 billion against the same period from last year, according to statistics released by the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

In line with these figures, the country exported goods worth US$4.76 billion whilst spending US$4.06 billion on imports, registering a trade surplus of US$700 million in the process.

Among the export items that recorded high turnover, only mobile phones and components witnessed positive growth, with export revenue throughout the reviewed period hitting US$1.31 billion, a year-on year increase of 5.8%.

The export of computers, electronic products and components suffered a fall of 24.6% to US$804 million, while exports of machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts plummeted by 47.7% to US$373.78 million.

Furthermore, tea exports posted a sharp increase of 300.6% to US$4.96 million against the same period from last year, while the export of cashew nuts, confectioneries, and raw materials saw respective rises of 21.3%, 32.3%, and 22.6%.

Vietnam imported iron and steel of all kinds worth US$1.06 billion, making up 25% of the total import turnover of goods from the South Asian nation. The export turnover for November alone reached a sum of US$86.56 million, representing an increase of 39.3% from the previous month.

The country also spent US$298.60 million on importing machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts throughout the reviewed period, a decline of 21.8% on-year, while pharmaceutical and seafood imports saw an increase of 5.3% and 20.8% in comparison to the same period from the previous year.

With India moving to apply a number of trade restrictions and new regulations relating to the rule of origin, in addition to the initiation of trade remedies, this has significantly affected bilateral trade in recent times. Indeed, annual trade turnover between the two countries is anticipated to reach US$10 billion by the end of the year