Trade surplus reached the highest level in 5 years

According to latest data by the General Statistics Office, in March 2024 alone, the total import and export turnover of goods was estimated to reach 65.09 billion USD, up 35.6% month on month and up 12% year on year. In the first quarter of 2024, the total import and export turnover of goods reached 178.04 billion USD, an increase of 15.5% year on year, of which exports and imports recorded an increase of 17% and 13.9%, respectively. The trade balance of goods had a surplus of 8.08 billion USD

Regarding exports, the export turnover of goods in March 2024 was estimated to reach 34.01 billion USD, an increase of 37.8% month on month. Overall, in the first quarter of 2024, merchandise export turnover was estimated to reach 93.06 billion USD, up 17% year on year. Of which, the domestic economic sector reached 25.21 billion USD, an increase of 26.2%, accounting for 27.1% of total export turnover; The foreign invested sector (including crude oil) reached 67.85 billion USD, up 13.9%, accounting for 72.9%.

In the first quarter of 2024, there were 16 items with export turnover of over 1 billion USD, accounting for 82.1% of total export turnover (4 export items with export turnover of over 5 billion USD, accounting for 52.7%).

Regarding the structure of export goods, commodity groups recorded growth. In detail, the fuel and minerals group was 1.18 billion USD, accounting for 1.3% of the total export turnover; The group of processed industrial goods was estimated at 82.02 billion USD, accounting for 88.1%; Agricultural and forestry products were estimated at 8 billion USD, accounting for 8.6%; The seafood group was estimated to reach 1.86 billion USD, accounting for 2%.

In the opposite direction, the import turnover of goods in March 2024 was estimated to reach 31.08 billion USD, an increase of 33.4% compared to the previous month. In the first quarter, import turnover of goods was estimated at 84.98 billion USD, up 13.9% over the same period last year, of which the domestic economic sector reached 29.7 billion USD, up 14.4%; The foreign investment sector reached 55.28 billion USD, an increase of 13.6%. Also in the first quarter, there were 17 imported items worth over 1 billion USD, accounting for 76.1% of total import turnover (2 imported items were worth over 5 billion USD, accounting for 40.3%).

Regarding the import and export markets, the United States maintained its leading proportion of Vietnam export market with an estimated turnover of 26.2 billion USD. China was Vietnam's largest import market with an estimated turnover of 29.4 billion USD. Specifically, in the first quarter, trade surplus to the United States was estimated at 22.7 billion USD, up 27.9% year on year; Trade surplus to the EU was estimated at 8.2 billion USD, up 15.8% and to Japan was 50 million USD, down 27.7%. In contrast, trade deficit from China was 16.7 billion USD, an increase of 44.4% while this number in Korea was 6.2 billion USD, down 3.5% and from ASEAN was 2.2 billion USD, up 10.9%.

The export potential room for Vietnamese fruits is still available. Illustration photo: N.H

The export staples continue to leave impressive marks

Assessing the import-export situation in the first quarter, the representative of the Department of Trade and Services Statistics (General Statistics Office) highly evaluated the recovery trend from the fourth quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024

Vietnam's import and export activities in the first quarter of 2024 have achieved positive results with an increase of export turnover by 17% and import turnover by 13.9% over the same period in 2023.

For the domestic economic sector, out of 45 main export products in the first quarter, 35/45 (reaching 77.8%) product groups witnessed uptrend signals compared to the same period in 2023 and accounted for 91.3% of the total value of exported goods. Some key export products increased sharply over the same period last year, such as: computer electronics and components by 30.3%; Wood and wood products by 18.9%. Some of Vietnam's advantageous agricultural and forestry export products also had good growth over the same period, such as: coffee by 54.2%; cashew nuts by 20.2%; vegetables and fruits by 25.8% and rice by 40%.

Vietnam's export markets also recorded good growth compared to the same period last year in most key markets with an corresponding uptrend rates of 5,2% in China; 26% of United States; 6.4% of Japan 6.4% and The EU market of 16.3%... Thanks to the above results, the first quarter trade balance maintained a surplus with a trade surplus of 8.1 billion USD (the highest in the last 5 years).

The above results are owing to the Government's efforts in drastically directing ministries, branches and localities and the determination of businesses, taking advantage of opportunities of free trade agreements, and strengthening trade promotion of Vietnamese products to the international market, affirming the more prestigious quality of Vietnamese goods in global trade. Besides, it is clearly that the world demand trend for some Vietnamese products has also begun to recover, which is also a very good sign in a context where there are still many challenges.

Of which, export turnover alone recorded outstanding growth of over 34 billion USD, up 37.8% over the previous month. Meanwhile, imports were estimated at 31.08 billion USD, up 33.4% over the previous month, which was resulted from long Tet holiday in February, causing production and export to slow down. However, considering both absolute numbers and growth rate, trade activities have shown clear bounce back signals.

Notably, the structure of imported goods in the first quarter still witnessed positive signals. Of which, the group of capital goods was estimated at 79.9 billion USD, up 14.5% over the same period last year, accounting for 94%. The consumer goods group reached 5.08 billion USD, up 4.6%, accounting for 6%. The rapid increase in imports of capital goods revealed bounce back indicators of import goods to serve the production of export goods.