Of the figure, Viet Nam gained US$157.5 billion from exporting, up 13.3 percent and spent US$155.76 billion on imports, up 17.4 percent, resulting in a trade surplus of US$1.74 billion.

From January 1-May 15, the total export and import value of the foreign direct investment (FDI) sector hit US$211.59 billion, up 15.5 percent against the same period last year. The FDI sector earned US$112.36 billion from exporting, up 13.1 percent while imports reached US$99.23 billion, up 18.4 percent.

Viet Nam has set an ambitious export target of US$454 billion for 2025, a 12 percent year-on-year increase, despite recent signs of deceleration in exports due to global economic pressures.

Many experts believe that achieving this goal will require decisive actions from regulatory bodies and extraordinary efforts from businesses to overcome obstacles.

The Southeast Asian nation is set to rank among the world's 30 fastest-growing economies in both trade-growth speed and absolute volume increase by 2030, noted German logistics provider DHL.

The Business Times cited DHL's latest report as saying that Southeast Asian countries are set for accelerated trade growth over the next five years, with Viet Nam, Indonesia, and the Philippines expected to rank among the world's 30 fastest-growing economies in both trade-growth speed and absolute volume increase by 2030.

Viet Nam's trade volume is forecast to grow at a compound annual rate of 6.5 percent from 2024 to 2029, up from 6.2 percent in the 2019-2024 period./.