Ho Chi Minh City’s foreign trade totalled more than US$60.48 billion in the first eight months of this year, down 0.03% against the same period of 2019.

In the January-August period, the southern economic hub shipped US$28.4 billion worth of goods abroad, up 4% year-on-year. Excluding crude oil, exports reached US$27.8 billion, up 5.8% year-on-year.

Shipments of industrial goods rose 5.6% year-on-year to US$19.65 billion, contributing the largest share to the total, at 78.1%. Computers, electronics and components made up 45.2% of the total, growing 26.2% to over US$11.2 billion. Meanwhile, textiles-garment and footwear posted sharp declines of 20.4% and 12%, respectively.

Exports of agricultural products exceeded US$2.34 billion, down 0.6% year-on-year, with rice shipments worth US$705.8 million, up 14.2%. Conversely, exports of rubber nosedived 42.6% to US$222.8 million.

China remained HCM City’s largest customer during the reviewed period, importing more than US$6.84 billion, up 35.5% from a year earlier and representing 26.2% of the total. It was followed by the US and Japan.

The city’s imports were valued at over US$32 billion in the period, down 2.8%. Main import items included machinery and components, and consumer goods.