Vietnam's Trade Turnover Surpasses US$770 Billion in First Eight Months, Setting New Record

The Socialist Republic of Viet Nam's trade turnover has reached a new record, exceeding US$770 billion in the first eight months of the year. This significant milestone underscores the nation's robust economic performance and its expanding role in global commerce. In August alone, Vietnam's trade turnover totaled US$109.7 billion. While this represents a marginal decrease of 0.1 percent from the previous month, it signifies a substantial growth of 31.7 percent when compared to the same period in the preceding year. This upward trend has been consistent throughout the year. Cumulatively, from January to August, Vietnam's export turnover reached US$374.84 billion, an impressive increase of 22.4 percent compared to the corresponding period last year. The domestic economic sector contributed US$74.47 billion to this figure, while the foreign-funded sector added a substantial US$300.37 billion. The export landscape is characterized by the dominance of high-value products, with 33 export product groups each exceeding US$1 billion in turnover, collectively accounting for 93.6 percent of the total export value. Seven of these product groups surpassed the US$10 billion mark, contributing a significant 70 percent to the overall exports. The export structure is heavily skewed towards processed industrial products, which generated US$337.99 billion, representing 90.2 percent of the total export turnover. Agricultural and forestry products followed, contributing US$26.65 billion (7.1 percent), with seafood at US$8 billion (2.1 percent) and fuels and minerals at US$2.2 billion (0.6 percent). On the import front, Vietnam's expenditure in the first eight months amounted to US$395.3 billion, a considerable increase of 35.3 percent year-on-year. The domestic economic sector accounted for US$105.07 billion of these imports, up 23.7 percent and constituting 26.6 percent of the total import turnover. The foreign-invested sector was a major driver of imports, recording US$290.23 billion, an increase of 40.1 percent, and representing 73.4 percent of the total. Imports are predominantly composed of production inputs, totaling US$372.04 billion, or 94.1 percent of the total import turnover. This includes machinery, equipment, tools, and spare parts, which accounted for 57.6 percent, and raw materials, energy, and other production inputs, making up 36.5 percent. Consumer goods represented a smaller portion, totaling US$23.26 billion, or 5.9 percent of total imports. In terms of key trading partners, the United States continued to be Vietnam's largest export market during the first eight months of the year, with a total value of US$122.0 billion. Conversely, China remained Vietnam's largest supplier of goods, with imports from China reaching US$161.9 billion.