Vietnam records US$1.3 billion trade surplus in January

Vietnam exported US$27.7 billion worth of goods in January while importing US$26.4 billion, registering a trade surplus of US$1.3 billion, according preliminary data released by the General Statistics Office.

Vietnam's exports in January are estimated at US$27.7 billion.
Vietnam's exports in January are estimated at US$27.7 billion.

Export revenue in the first month of 2021 rose slightly by 0.2% against the previous month and soared 50.5% compared with the same period in 2020.

There were six groups of goods each earning more than US$1 billion, accounting for 67.3% of Vietnam’s total export revenue in January.

The United States was the largest importer of Vietnamese goods, at US$7.5 billion in January, up 57.4% annually, followed by China, which purchased US$5.8 billion worth of Vietnamese goods, a year-on-year increase of 111.6%.

Exports to the EU, ASEAN, Japan and the Republic of Korea were US$2.8 billion, US$2.3 billion, US$1.9 billion and US$1.7 billion, respectively.

On the import side, Vietnam bought US$26.4 billion worth of foreign goods, down 5.4% from December but up 41% against the same month in 2020.

China was the largest source of imports to Vietnam, estimated at US$9.6 billion, a year-on-year rise of 72.7%.

Imports from the Republic of Korea came second at US$5.1 billion, followed by US$3.4 billion from ASEAN countries and US$2 billion from Japan.

Vietnamese imports from the EU and the United States were estimated at US$1.3 billion and US$1 billion, respectively.