Trade picture showing great promise

Vietnam’s total import-export turnover increased a significant 22.3 per cent year-on-year in the first eleven months of 2021, according to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO).

Total goods turnover reached $599.12 billion, with exports at $299.67 billion, up 17.5 per cent, and imports at $299.45 billion, up 27.5 per cent. Therefore, in the first eleven months, Vietnam’s trade surplus stood at $225 million. Total import-export turnover in November, meanwhile, stood at $59.7 billion, up 8.5 per cent compared to October and 19.7 per cent against November last year.

The export of processed industrial products continued to play a key role, posting turnover of $266.75 billion, up 18 per cent year-on-year and accounting for 89 per cent of Vietnam’s total export turnover. The US remains the country’s largest export market, with turnover of $84.8 billion, up 22.2 per cent year-on-year, followed by China, the EU, ASEAN, South Korea, and Japan.

Notably, total trade turnover is expected to reach $640-645 billion for the year as a whole, with a slight surplus, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI). This is a positive result for Vietnam after suffering heavily from the pandemic.

In order to promote exports in the closing weeks of the year, the MPI has been focusing on solutions to consolidate and expand export markets, taking full advantage of the free trade agreements (FTAs) Vietnam has signed while helping businesses look at other small markets.