The US was the largest importer of Vietnamese goods in the first quarter of 2021, with total export turnover hitting 21.2 billion USD, an increase of 32.8 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)’s Agro Produce Processing and Market Development Authority.

Vietnamese rice for export - Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

The US was the largest importer of Vietnamese goods in the first quarter of 2021, with total export turnover hitting 21.2 billion USD, an increase of 32.8 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)’s Agro Produce Processing and Market Development Authority.

The Authority said the strong growth is likely to be maintained in next months despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Export turnover of vegetables and fruits, and aquatic products to the US in the reviewed period was valued at 23.4 million USD, and 189.15 million USD, up 3.7 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

Statistics of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) also show that the export value of machinery, equipment and spare parts to the US expanded by 215 percent to 1.58 billion USD in January this year.

Meanwhile, the export turnover of telephone and components to the country hit 6.1 billion USD in January, up 3.4 billion USD from the same period last year.

According to the MoIT, the purchase power in the US has recovered in recent months and this offers a good opportunity for Vietnamese goods in the context that the global economy is still severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Deputy General Director of the MoIT’s Export-Import Department Tran Thanh Hai underlined the necessity to pay special attention to accelerating digitalization and applying e-commerce in export activities.

The Government, ministries, sectors and localities need to define new orientations amid great changes in the world, he said, adding that the MoIT will propose issuing a new strategy for export activities in the coming time./.