With a record trade surplus of 9.12 billion USD over the first 11 months and year-on-year export growth of 7.8 percent, experts believe that 2019 will be the fourth straight year Vietnam will post a trade surplus.

The shoe factory of the Ha Tay Chemical Weave Co. Ltd in Hanoi's Ba Vi district (Photo: VNA)

According to the Export-Import Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the country shipped 241.42 billion USD worth of goods abroad between January and November, up 7.8 percent from the previous year. 

That included 74.72 billion USD exported by domestic businesses and 166.7 billion USD (including crude oil) from foreign invested firms, rising 18.1 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively. The domestic sector’s proportion of total export revenues also increased to 30.95 percent from 29.16 percent.

Meanwhile, imports have reached 232.31 billion USD so far this year, up 7.4 percent year on year. The figure includes 98.2 billion USD by domestic firms and 134.1 billion USD by foreign invested companies, up 13.9 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively.

Analysts said amidst the complex global situation and more non-tariff barriers, Vietnam’s sustained export growth and record trade surplus have proven the effectiveness of its efforts to take advantage of export opportunities.

Deputy Director of the Export-Import Department Tran Thanh Hai said by the end of November, 32 commodities had enjoyed an export turnover of more than 1 billion USD, including eight with over 5 billion USD and five with over 10 billion USD in revenue.

He said exports to the markets that Vietnam has free trade agreements with have posted good growth, including Japan (up 7.6 percent year on year), the Republic of Korea (10.1 percent), ASEAN (2.5 percent), Russia (9.1 percent) and New Zealand (6.8 percent).

The US remained the biggest destination for Vietnamese goods in the reviewed period, followed by the EU, China, ASEAN, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

The export structure has also been improved with less raw materials and more processed and industrial products shipped abroad, Hai added.