Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam's total import-export turnover reached 659.58 billion USD in the first seven months of 2026, up 28.1% year-on-year. However, imports outpaced exports, resulting in a trade deficit of 20.52 billion USD, largely driven by stronger demand for imported raw materials, machinery and production inputs.

According to the National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Finance, merchandise exports totalled 319.53 billion USD between January and July, an increase of 21.7% compared with the same period last year.

The domestic economic sector contributed 63.64 billion USD, up 5.8%, accounting for 19.9% of total exports, while the foreign-invested sector (including crude oil) generated 255.89 billion USD, up 26.4%, representing 80.1% of total exports.

In the first seven months, 31 export items recorded turnover exceeding 1 billion USD each, accounting for 93% of the total export value. Of these, seven products each generated more than 10 billion USD, making up 69.7% of total exports.

Manufactured goods remained dominant, reaching 287.91 billion USD and accounting for 90.1% of exports. Agricultural and forestry products earned 22.79 billion USD (7.1%), seafood exports totalled 6.86 billion USD (2.2%), while fuel and mineral exports reached 1.97 billion USD (0.6%).

Meanwhile, merchandise imports rose 34.8% year-on-year to 340.05 billion USD. Imports by the domestic sector reached 92.14 billion USD, up 24.1%, while the foreign-invested sector imported goods worth 247.91 billion USD, an increase of 39.2%.

A total of 40 imported products exceeded 1 billion USD in value each, accounting for 93% of the total imports. Two products each recorded import turnover above 10 billion USD, representing 52% of the total imports.

Production inputs accounted for 94.1% of imports, equivalent to 319.95 billion USD. Machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts made up 56.9% of imports, while raw materials and fuels accounted for 37.2%. Consumer goods imports totalled 20.1 billion USD, or 5.9% of the total.

The US remained Vietnam's largest export market, with exports valued at 104.7 billion USD in the seven-month period, while China continued to be the country's largest source of imports, supplying goods worth 138.6 billion USD. As such, Vietnam recorded a trade surplus of 91.4 billion USD with the US, up 22.6% year-on-year, while its trade deficit with China widened to 93 billion USD, an increase of 39.7%.

To further boost exports, NSO Director Nguyen Thi Huong recommended the Government to continue implementing measures to promote exports, step up trade promotion activities, diversify supply chains, production networks and export markets, while improving product quality and integrating more deeply into regional and global supply chains.

She also called for better utilisation of existing free trade agreements (FTAs), stronger exports to key markets, and greater efforts to tap into emerging markets, including Halal, Latin American and African markets, with the aim of achieving a sustainable trade surplus.

In addition, she proposed providing businesses with timely market information, helping them comply with new export standards, supporting them in anti-dumping cases, facilitating access to finance, and encouraging the adoption of advanced technologies to improve product quality, enhance added value and expand export markets./.