06 September 2023

According to the latest statistics of the General Statistics Office, in August, the total import and export turnover of goods was estimated at 60.92 billion USD, up 6.7% over the previous month.

In the first 8 months of 2023, the total import and export turnover of goods reached 435.23 billion USD, down 13.1% over the same period last year, of which exports decreased by 10%; imports fell 16.2%. The trade balance of goods in the first 8 months of 2023 is estimated to have a trade surplus of 20.19 billion USD.

Commodity exports gradually prospered

In terms of goods exports, goods export turnover in August 2023 is estimated at 32.37 billion USD, up 7.7% over the previous month. In which, the domestic economic sector reached 8.43 billion USD, up 8.7%; FDI sector (including crude oil) reached 23.94 billion USD, up 7.3%.

Thus, continuously in the last 4 months, the export turnover of goods has grown more than the previous month. This shows that trade promotion and market search solutions of enterprises have brought positive results.

However, due to a deep decrease in the first months of the year, in the first 8 months of 2023, the export turnover of goods is estimated at 227.71 billion USD, down 10% over the same period last year.

In the first 8 months of 2023, there are 30 items with export turnover of over 1 billion USD, accounting for 91.8% of total export turnover (there are 5 export items over 10 billion USD, accounting for 58.4%).

Regarding the structure of export commodity groups in the first 8 months of 2023, the group of fuels and minerals is estimated at 2.82 billion USD, accounting for 1.2%; the group of processed industrial goods was estimated at 201.31 billion USD, accounting for 88.4%; agricultural and forest products were estimated at 17.87 billion USD, accounting for 7.9%; seafood products are estimated at 5.71 billion USD, accounting for 2.5%.

Notably, vegetables and fruits have made a very strong breakthrough in recent years. Fruit and vegetable export turnover in the past 8 months was estimated at 3.5 billion USD, up nearly 56% over the same period last year. This is an all-time record high for the fruit and vegetable industry. In particular, durian products from "insignificant" turnover have risen to become the most important export item.

This figure is higher than the fruit and vegetable export turnover of the whole of last year. Among the vegetable groups, durian, dragon fruit is a major contributor to this growth. Especially, durian exports in 8 months accounted for 30% of total turnover.

Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen – General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association said that the reason for the sharp increase in durian exports was due to the 5th and 6th months in the full harvest season of this fruit in the southern provinces, so the amount of goods exported to the Chinese market increased dramatically. From May 8 to the end of the year will enter the main harvest in the Central Highlands. As a result, production will skyrocket and durian exports will exceed $1 billion.

Currently, the purchase price of durian is increasing sharply due to Western goods at the end of the season. At gardeners, the price of first-grade durian is for sale at 85,000-100,000 VND/kg, double that of the same period last year.

Recently, the price of Vietnamese durian has been bought at high prices by Chinese businesses and small businesses. In addition, the transit time is short, Vietnamese products are always fresh, so they are competitive compared to Thai goods.

In 2023, it is likely that fruit and vegetable exports will reach the historical milestone of 5 billion USD.

Or for the textile and garment industry, in July, textile and garment exports reached 3.27 billion USD, up 6.8% over the previous month. This is also the highest value in recent 11 months. Textiles and garments are showing good signs of recovery in many markets. Mr. Vu Duc Giang - Chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Garment Association said that in 2023, the textile and garment industry is expected to reach export turnover of 40 to 41 billion USD. Currently, textile and garment is the 4th largest export group of Vietnam after computers, electronic products and components; phones and components; machinery, equipment, tools, spare parts.

Trade surplus at a high level

In the opposite direction, the import turnover of goods in August 2023 is estimated at 28.55 billion USD, up 5.7% over the previous month. In which, the domestic economic sector reached 10.25 billion USD, down 1.4%; FDI sector reached 18.3 billion USD, up 10.2%. Compared to the same period last year, the import turnover of goods in August decreased by 8.3%, of which the domestic economic sector decreased by 1.7%; the foreign-invested sector decreased by 11.6%.

Import turnover of goods has also increased continuously in recent months with the main group of goods being materials for production. With such an increase, it is possible to expect commodity exports to prosper in the coming time.

In the first 8 months of 2023, the import turnover of goods is estimated at 207.52 billion USD, down 16.2% over the same period last year.

In the first 8 months of 2023, there are 37 imported items worth over 1 billion USD, accounting for 89.9% of total import turnover (there are 2 imported items over 10 billion USD, accounting for 38.8%).

The preliminary trade balance of goods in August was estimated at a trade surplus of 3.82 billion USD. In the first 8 months of 2023, the trade balance of goods is estimated to have a trade surplus of 20.19 billion USD (the same period last year had a trade surplus of 5.26 billion USD). In which, the domestic economic sector has a trade deficit of 14.02 billion USD; the foreign-invested sector (including crude oil) had a trade surplus of 34.21 billion USD.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, another favorable factor for exports in the last months of the year is from the US - Vietnam's largest export market. Specifically, the US economy grew higher than expected, commodity inventories continued to decline. In addition, the fact that industrialized countries continue to promote strategies to diversify supply sources, supply chains and investment will help Vietnam become an important production and export center in the global value chain.

Factors such as existing free trade agreements (FTAs) with Vietnam's major market partners such as Europe and the Americas continue to have positive impacts on trade, investment and exports. Some garments began to enjoy 0% import tax on the EU market under the EVFTA agreement... will be a favorable condition for businesses to boost exports to these markets.

Source: congthuong.vn