Textile and garment exports reached US$16.282 billion in the first half of 2024, up 3.1 percent year-on-year

Both exports and imports see improvements

The Ministry of Industry and Trade’s latest data show that in the first half (H1) of 2024, goods imports and exports continued to improve and achieved positive results thanks to the global market’s recovery and increases in the number and value of export orders.

Vietnam reached an estimated foreign trade value of US$368.53 billion in the first half of this year, up 15.7 percent year-on-year, with exports soaring 14.5 percent to US$190.08 billion, imports increasing by 17 percent to US$178.45 billion, and trade surplus reaching US$11.63 billion.

Twenty-nine exports yielded more than US$1 billion each, accounting for 91.4 percent of the country’s total, seven of which brought in over US$5 billion each, representing 65.6 percent of the total.

Textile and garment exports reached US$16.282 billion in the first half of 2024, up 3.1 percent year-on-year.

Cao Huu Hieu, General Director of the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), said that early this year, enterprises received more orders and orders with longer time than the same period last year. Most of the group’s garment companies have enough orders until October and are negotiating more for the following months, while they had to seek orders month by month in 2023.

In the first five months of 2024, Vietnam surpassed China to become the biggest textile and garment exporter to the US, and the largest country worldwide in terms of textile and garment export growth.

Agricultural product exports hit US$18.37 billion in the first half of this year, up 19.9 percent year-on-year and accounting for 9.67 percent of the country’s total export value. The increased export prices made most produce exports achieve a double-digit growth rate compared to the same period last year. Specifically, coffee exports were up 34.5 percent in value despite a 10.6 percent decrease in volume, while rice exports improved 32 percent in value and 10.4 percent in volume.

About 88.8 percent of the country’s H1 import value was goods that need to be imported.

Dr. Le Quoc Phuong, former Deputy Director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Center for Industry and Trade Information, said that for an export processing-based economy like Vietnam, the increase in imports is a welcome sign, and the fact that imports as raw materials and goods that need to be imported accounted for nearly 90 percent of the country’s total import value shows a sign of production recovery.

How big will the 2024 foreign trade value be?

In 2024, Vietnam set a target of reaching an export value of US$377 billion, six percent more than in 2023, and a trade surplus of about US$15 billion.

The World Trade Organization forecast in April 2024 that the global trade in goods would grow by 2.6 percent in 2024 and 3.3 percent in 2025, and Vietnam’s exports are expected to further increase in the second half (H2) of 2024. Many businesses have orders for production and export until the third quarter of this year. The prices of food items will probably further increase.

Dr. Le Quoc Phuong highly rated the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s export promotion efforts. The Ministry also implemented effective trade remedies, benefiting a number of exports.

Other support factors for export growth in H2 include the potential increases in the domestic and global market demand during the year-end period; Vietnam benefiting from the wave of order shifts from the US, the advantages to boost exports to China, and the advantages brought in by free trade agreements (FTAs) to which Vietnam is a signatory.

Therefore, if the current import and export growth is maintained, Vietnam will likely reach a foreign trade value of more than US$750 billion in 2024, the highest figure ever recorded.