The country’s trade turnover in the first quarter of the year was estimated US$152.65 billion, a year-on-year surge of 24.1%. Of the total, exports amounted to US$77.34 billion, a yearly hike of 22%, while imports were estimated at US$75.31 billion, 26.3% higher than the same time last year.
The domestic economic sector reached US$18.3 billion, up 4.9%, accounting for 23.7% of the Vietnam’s total export turnover; while the foreign-invested sector (including crude oil) reached US$59.04 billion, up 28.5%, accounting for 76.3% of the total. In the first quarter, there were 11 commodities with export turnover of over US$ 1 billion, accounting for 76.6% of the total export turnover (including four commodities with export turnover of over US$ 5 billion, accounting for 54.7%).
The US was Vietnam’s biggest importer as it splashed out US$21.2 billion on Vietnamese products, or 32.8% higher than the amount it spent in the same time last year, followed by the markets of China; the EU; ASEAN; the Republic of Korea(ROK); and Japan.
Meanwhile, the country spent big (US$75.31 billion) on imports, with foreign-invested sector purchasing US$50.26billion worth of products from abroad, up 31.5%, while that of the domestic sector surged 17% to US$25.05 billion. In the first quarter, there were 15 imported goods with turnover of over US$ 1 billion, accounting for 73.3% of the total import turnover (including two commodities with turnover above US$5 billion, accounting for 36.7%).
In the first quarter, China was the largest exporter for Vietnam, with revenue estimated at US$23.8 billion, up 47.3% year-on-year, followed by the ROK, ASEAN, Japan, the EU, and the US.
