HCMC – The country saw its trade balance running a surplus of US$3.33 billion in the second half of August, bringing the total surplus in the January-August period to a record high of US$13.49 billion.
The figure is higher than the previous record of US$9.9 billion in the whole of 2019.
Latest data from the General Statistics Office showed that the total export-import revenue of Vietnam reached over US$26.6 billion in the last two weeks of August, up 12.6%, or nearly US$3 billion, compared with the previous fortnight. Between January and August, the total value was over US$337 billion, rising a slight US$2 billion over the same period last year.
Of this, foreign-invested firms reported a combined export-import value of nearly US$202.8 billion, up 4.8%, or nearly US$10.3 billion. Meanwhile, the figure of domestic enterprises was put at US$134.4 billion, marking an 8.3% rise, or around US$10.3 billion.
In the last two weeks of August, the country’s trade balance reported a surplus of US$3.33 billion, bringing the total surplus in the January-August period to a record high of US$13.49 billion, soaring 2.5 times against 2019.
Last year, the record of US$9.9 billion marked a four-year high, suggesting a sustained trade surplus in Vietnam in recent years.
Trade surplus results in rising foreign reserves. However, the trade surplus this year was attributable to falling imports, not rising exports.
During the eight months, the nation’s export revenue was over US$175 billion, expanding 2.3%, or around US$4 billion year-on-year. Meanwhile, the import value was US$161.8 billion, down 2.4%, or US$4 billion.
The trade surplus still relied on the foreign-invested sector, while domestic firms racked up a trade deficit of over US$10 billion.
According to analysts and businesses, exports still faced numerous difficulties given the complicated developments of the Covid-19 pandemic all over the world. Many local firms had yet to receive orders or contracts from their clients.
However, they are optimistic that the export industry would grow strongly as many countries have started to relax restrictions and speed up economic recovery. Besides this, the implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, which has been valid since early last month, will help boost trade with the EU market.
By Hung Le
