FDI sector in Vietnam posts $18.56 bln trade surplus in Jan-May

Foreign-invested companies in Vietnam recorded a trade turnover of $183.4 billion, including crude oil, and a trade surplus of $18.56 billion in the first five months of the year.

Vietnam’s import-export dropped 14.7% year-on-year to $262.54 billion in the five-month period. The country recorded an export revenue of $136.17 billion, down 11.6%, while import expenditure fell 17.9% to $126.37 billion.

As a result, the country's trade surplus reached $9.8 billion, versus $0.24 billion in the same period last year, the General Statistics Office announced on Monday.

The foreign-invested sector accounted for $100.98 billion of export revenue (including crude oil), down 11.1% year-on-year, equivalent to 74.2% of the total. The domestic sector made an export revenue of $35.19 billion, down 13.2%, accounting for 25.8% of the total.

For imports, the foreign-invested sector recorded expenditure of $82.42 billion, down 17.5% against the same period last year. The domestic sector spent $43.95 billion, down 24.6%.

Overall, the foreign-invested sector posted a trade surplus of $18.56 billion, including crude oil; while the domestic sector made a trade deficit of $8.76 billion.

In January-May, Vietnam’s key exports were mobile phones and components worth $21.17 billion, down 16% year-on-year; followed by electronics, computers and components worth $20.33 billion, down 9.8%; machinery and equipment worth $16.55 billion, down 5.1%; and apparel-textile worth $12.32 billion, down 17.8%.

Products of the manufacturing-processing industry accounted for $120.24 billion, the biggest portion at 88.3% of the total; followed by farm produce and forestry goods worth $10.79 billion, or 7.9%; fisheries worth $3.37 billion, or 2.5%; and fuel and natural resources worth $1.77 billion, or 1.3%.

The Southeast Asian country’s core imports were electronics, computers and components worth $31.69 billion, down 13.1% year-on-year; followed by machinery and equipment worth $15.77 billion, down 14.6%; and cloths worth $5.13 billion, down 22.9%.

Materials for production accounted for $118.31 billion, the biggest portion at 93.6% of import expenditure. The country spent $8.06 billion on importing goods for consumption, or 6.4% of the total.

In the five-month period, China, the U.S., and ASEAN were Vietnam’s biggest trade partners with turnovers of $63.2 billion, $43.2 billion, and $31.2 billion, respectively. Other top trading partners were South Korea, the EU, and Japan at $30 billion, $24.4 billion, and $18.3 billion, respectively.

China remained the biggest import market for Vietnam at $43.4 billion, while the U.S. was the biggest export destination at $37.2 billion.