Vietnam records $24.3 bln trade surplus in Jan-Nov, FDI sector $46.48 bln

Vietnam posted a trade surplus $24.31 billion in the first 11 months of this year, while the figure for its foreign direct investment (FDI) sector is $46.48 billion.

The country’s 11-month trade surplus went up from $23.31 billion in January-October, while the FDI sector’s tally rose from $42.92 billion, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

In January-November, Vietnam’s export revenue grew 14.4% year-on-year to $369.93 billion, while import expenditure went up 16.4% to $345.62 billion.

The domestic sector made a trade deficit of $22.17 billion in the period.

Regarding export, Vietnam’s biggest cash earners were electronics, computers and components with $65.23 billion, up 26.3% year-on-year; phones and components with $50.24 billion, up 3.2%; machinery and equipment with $47.81 billion, up 21.6%; apparel-textiles with $33.65 billion, up 10.6%; and footwear with $20.76 billion, up 12.9%.

These were the only five sectors with export revenues exceeding $20 billion each.

The manufacturing-processing sector accounted for $325.52 billion of the country's total export, or 88%; followed by farm produce and forestry goods at $31.35 billion (8.4%); fisheries at $9.17 billion (2.5%); and fuel and natural resources at $3.89 billion (1.1%).

Regarding imports, sectors with highest import expenditure were electronics, computers and components with $97.73 billion, up 22.4% year-on-year; followed by machinery and equipment with $44.21 billion, up 17.3%; fabric with $13.57 billion, up 14.3%; steel-iron with $11.51 billion, up 20.3%; and plastics with $10.6 billion, up 18.4%.

Those were the only five sectors with import expenditure exceeding $10 billion each.

Materials for production accounted for $323.72 billion, or 93.7% of total imports. The remaining 6.3%, or $21.9 billion, was spent on consumer goods.

China and the U.S. were Vietnam's biggest trade partners, with total values of $185.4 billion and $122.4 billion in the period, respectively. Other major partners were the ASEAN bloc with $76 billion, South Korea with $74.5 billion, the EU with $62.6 billion, and Japan with $42 billion.

Vietnam spent $130.2 billion on importing goods from China and earned $55.2 billion from exporting goods to that country, up 29.7% but down 0.9% year-on-year, respectively. China was Vietnam’s biggest import market and second-biggest export market.

Exports to and imports from the U.S. rose 23.9% and 7.3% year-on-year respectively to $108.9 billion and $13.5 billion. The U.S. was Vietnam’s largest export destination.