August witnessed the country’s export and import turnover reach over US$50 billion, whilst its trade surplus hit a record high of approximately US$13.5 billion, according to figures released by the Customs General Department.

Thanks to these positive signs of growth, the total value of the country’s import and export goods during the first eight months of the year reached US$336.92 billion, of which the total export value stood at US$175.36 billion, up 2.3%, whilst the overall import value reached US$161.9 billion, a decline of 2.4% in comparison with the same period last year.

The first eight months of the year has therefore seen the trade balance surplus reach close to US$13.5 billion, roughly 2.5 times higher compared to 2019’s figure of US$5.47 billion.

Most notably, August saw the group of mobile phones and components led the way in export turnover, whilst also witnessing a sharp increase compared to July, with US$5.35 billion, a boost of 24.8% on-year.

Furthermore, along with phones and components, the reviewed period witnessed five other export commodity groups record turnover of US$1 billion or more, including, computers, electronic products, machinery components, equipment, tools, spare parts, garments and textiles, footwear, along with wood and wood products.

In terms of imports, the largest commodity groups include computers, in addition to electronic products and components, with a turnover of more than US$6 billion, up 7.6% from the previous month. Generally, the first eight months of the year saw this group of goods reach US$38.75 billion, an annual rise of 15.6%, whilst continuing to be the nation’s largest import commodity group.