The US was the largest importer of Vietnam in the first seven months of 2019 with a turnover of 32.5 billion USD, a year-on-year surge of 25.4 percent, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

A production line of tra fish (pangasius) for exports in Dong Thap province

The European Union came second with 24.3 billion USD, up 0.4 percent against the same period last year. China followed with 20 billion USD, rising 0.1 percent year-on-year.

Vietnam earned 145.13 billion USD from shipping goods abroad in the period, a year on year increase of 7.5 percent.

The growth in export value was mainly contributed to by 24 ‘billion dollar’ goods items, which accounted for 88.1 percent of total export revenue. 

Telephones and spare parts were the largest earners with 27.3 billion USD, or 18.8 percent, followed by electronics, computers and spare parts, and garment and textiles.

Meanwhile, shipments of vegetables and fruits, coffee and cashew experienced a fall compared to the same time last year. 

Also in the period, Vietnam splashed out 143.34 billion USD on imports, up 8.3 percent year on year. Of the sum, some 60.83 billion USD was spent by the domestic economic sector, up 12.6 percent, and 82.51 billion USD by the foreign-invested sector, growing 5.3 percent.

There were 28 goods items seeing import value of more than a billion USD, making up 85.8 percent of total purchase from foreign countries, including electronics, computers and spare parts, and machines and equipment.  

Most of the goods were bought from China, the Republic of Korea and ASEAN countries.

As a result, the country recorded a trade surplus of 1.8 billion USD in the first seven months of the year.

In July alone, the country booked an export value of 22.6 billion USD, up 5.5 percent month-on-month, while imported goods worth 22.4 billion USD, a rise of 14.9 percent against the previous month.