VIETNAM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Liên Đoàn Thương Mại Và Công Nghiệp Việt Nam
Sat, Oct 31, 2020, 11:40:00
Vietnam’s trade surplus hit a record $18.72 billion in the first 10 months of this year as imports slowed down amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Exports grew at 4.7 percent year-on-year to $229.27 billion, with shipments of five items, namely smartphones, computers-electronics, textile-garment, machinery-equipment, and footwear, being worth at least $10 billion each, according to the General Statistics Office.
Textile-garment and footwear exports declined by over 9 percent each as major buyers like the U.S. and the E.U. delayed or canceled orders due to the pandemic.
The U.S. remained the largest market with exports rising 24 percent to $62.3 billion, followed by China and the E.U.
Imports grew by 0.4 percent, as against 7.8 percent in the same period last year, to $210.55 billion with garment, iron and steel and plastic seeing double-digit declines.
China was the largest seller, with imports from that country rising by 6.2 percent to $65.8 billion, followed by South Korea and ASEAN.
The GSO said since the pandemic is being well contained in Vietnam, most sectors are recovering. Manufacturing, as measured by the index of industrial production, achieved year-on-year growth of 8.3 percent in October.
