VN posts trade surplus of US$4 billion in H1

VGP – Viet Nam reported an estimated trade surplus of US$500 million in June, expanding the country’s trade surplus to US$4 billion in the January – June period, compared to the US$1.7-billion surplus recorded in the same period last year, the General Statistics Office (GSO) has said in a monthly report.

June 30, 2020 4:56 PM GMT+7

The country’s trade turnover is likely to have reached US$238.4 billion in the first half this year, down 2.1% year-on-year.

In June, Viet Nam exported goods worth an estimated US$21 billion, up 9.5% inter-monthly, while imports are estimated to have increased by 12.8% to US$20.5 billion.

The complicated progression of the Covid-19 pandemic in Viet Nam’s major markets continued to exert negative impacts on the country’s trading activities, noted the GSO.

Overall, the country’s trade turnover is likely to have slipped 2.1% year-on-year to reach US$238.4 billion in the January–June period, down 2.1% year-on-year.

Of the total, its exports slipped 1.1% year-on-year to US$121.21 billion, and imports are estimated at US$117.17 billion, down 3%.

The GSO stated that the import and export revenues of several goods have suffered significant effects from the coronavirus pandemic which continues to develop in a complicated manner on a global scale, particularly among Viet Nam’s leading trade partners.

Specifically, the country’s export revenue was reported at US$121.21 billion and import revenue was posted at US$117.17 billion.

Twenty-two types of goods saw export revenue of over US$1 billion each, accounting for 86.2% of the country’s total export revenue.

Therefore, the country enjoyed a trade surplus of US$4 billion, while a trade surplus of US$1.7 billion was posted for the same period last year.

Among Viet Nam’s major trading partners, the country’s trade surplus with the European Union (EU) witnessed a sharp decline of 18.9% year-on-year during the six-month period to US$9 billion, while its trade deficit with China decreased 19.3% to US$15.3 billion.

The country’s trade deficit with the Repulic of Korea and ASEAN also shrank by 18.3% and 2.4% year-on-year, respectively, to corresponding US$11 billion and US$3.1 billion.

By Vien Nhu