Vietnam achieves US$2.7 billion trade surplus in quarter one
Hung Le
HCMC – The first quarter this year has seen trade surplus surgingto US$2.7 billion, as export growth outpaced that of import spending, according to statistics of the General Department of Vietnam Customs.
Customs data shows the country’s export revenue in quarter one rose a staggering 24.8% year-on-yearto US$55.6 billion, while import expenditure grew at a milder rate of 13.3% to US$52.87 billion, resulting in a handsome trade surplus of US$2.7 billion as stated above.
It is more noteworthy that exports accelerated in the second half of March, generating a hefty trade surplus of US$1.39 billion within just a fortnight, accounting for more than half of the total trade surplus this year to date.
The foreign-invested sector remained the key player in terms of both the export value and trade surplus.
The statistics showed FDI enterprises shipped US$39.76 billion worth of goods, up 27.1% year-on-year and making up 71.6% of the country’s total export revenue. Meanwhile, FDI firms imported US$31.7 billion worth in the first quarter, up 13.6%, accounting for 60% of Vietnam’s total import turnover.
Thus, FDI enterprises enjoyed a trade surplus of US$8.05 billion last month while domestic ones kept on facing a large trade deficit.
Vietnam’s overall trade value in the first quarter increased 18.9% year-on-year to US$108.4 billion.Of the figure, foreign direct investment (FDI) firmsposted two-way trade of US$71.47 billion, up 20.8% against the year-ago period.