Vietnam's first-half trade surplus reaches USD 11.6 billion, with a major contribution from agriculture

The General Statistics Office (GSO) has just published a report on the socio-economic situation in the second quarter and the first six months of 2024, which updates some notable information about Vietnam's import-export activities in this period.

According to GSO, in the first half of 2024, the whole country's total import-export turnover of goods reached USD 368.5 billion, an increase of 15.7% over the same period last year. Of which, exports increased by 14.5% and imports increased by 17%. The balance of trade in goods had a surplus of USD 11.63 billion.

There were 29 commodities with a billion USD in exports

In the second quarter of 2024, export turnover is estimated to reach USD 97.2 billion, up 12.5% over the same period last year and up 4.6% over the first quarter of 2024.

In the first six months of 2024, export turnover of goods is estimated to reach USD 190.08 billion, up 14.5% over the same period last year. Of which, the domestic economic sector reached USD 53.39 billion, increasing by 20.6% and accounting for 28.1% of total export turnover; the foreign-invested sector (including crude oil) reached USD 136.69 billion, increasing by 12.3% and accounting for 71.9%.

In the first six months of 2024, the whole country had 29 commodities with an export turnover of over USD 1 billion, accounting for 91.4% of total export turnover. Of these, there are 7 export items worth over USD 5 billion, accounting for 65.6%.

Regarding the structure of export goods, the fuel and minerals group is estimated at USD 2.29 billion, accounting for 1.2%; the group of processed industrial goods is estimated at USD 166.79 billion, accounting for 87.7%; the group of agricultural and forestry products is estimated at USD 16.64 billion, accounting for 8.8%; and the group of fishery products is estimated to reach USD 4.36 billion, accounting for 2.3%.

Thus, according to data published by GSO, the total export value of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products is estimated at about USD 21 billion. This number is quite different from the data just announced by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development at the regular press conference in the second quarter of 2024. 

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the total export turnover of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products in the first six months of the year reached USD 29.2 billion, an increase of 19% over the same period in 2023. On the contrary, the total import turnover of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products reached nearly USD 21 billion. It means that the entire industry's trade surplus reached over USD 8 billion, an increase of more than 62%.

Contributing to the above results, there are 7 products and product groups with an export value of over USD 1 billion (coffee, rubber, rice, vegetables, cashew nuts, shrimp, and wood products), of which rice and cashew nuts are two products that increased in both export volume and value.

33 imported commodities worth a billion USD

Regarding imports of goods, in the second quarter of 2024, import turnover is estimated to reach USD 93.4 billion, up 19.8% over the same period last year and up 9.7% over the first quarter of 2024.

In the first six months of 2024, import turnover of goods is estimated at USD 178.45 billion, up 17% over the same period last year. Of which, the domestic economic sector reached USD 65.74 billion, an increase of 22.3%; the foreign-invested sector reached USD 112.71 billion, an increase of 14.1%.

In the first six months of 2024, there were 33 imported commodities worth over USD 1 billion, accounting for 88.1% of total import turnover. Of these, 5 imported items are worth over USD 5 billion, accounting for 50.2%.

Regarding the structure of imported goods, the group of production materials is estimated to reach USD 167.73 billion, accounting for 94%. Of which, the group of machinery, equipment, tools, and spare parts accounts for 46%; the group of raw materials, fuel, and materials accounts for 48%. The group of consumer goods is estimated to reach USD 10.72 billion, accounting for 6%.

The trade deficit from China increased sharply

Regarding export and import markets, the US is still Vietnam's largest export market, with an estimated turnover of USD 54.3 billion. Of which, the trade surplus to the US is estimated at USD 47.2 billion, up 25.6% over the same period last year.

On the contrary, China is Vietnam's largest import market, with an estimated turnover of USD 67 billion. Notably, the trade deficit from China in six months reached USD 39.2 billion, an increase of 67.9%.

Besides, during this period, the trade surplus to the EU is estimated to reach USD 17 billion, an increase of 18.5%; the trade surplus to Japan was USD 952 million. On the contrary, the trade deficit from South Korea is estimated at USD 14 billion, up 4.9%; the trade deficit from ASEAN was USD 4.4 billion, up 9.8%.

In the first half of 2024, the domestic economic sector is estimated to have a trade deficit of USD 12.35 billion. The foreign-invested sector (including crude oil) had a trade surplus of USD 23.98 billion.