Vietnam’s exports soar by 30.7% in first five months

Vietnam’s export turnover in the first five months of 2021 rose by 30.7% year-on-year to reach US$130.94 billion, with the domestic sector posting a value of US$33.06 billion, up 16.6% and accounting for 25.2% of total export revenue.

Vietnam posts a trade deficit of US$369 million in the first five months of 2021.
Vietnam posts a trade deficit of US$369 million in the first five months of 2021.

Meanwhile, the foreign-invested sector raked in US$97.88 billion from its export activities (including crude oil), an increase of 36.3% and representing 74.8% of the total, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported on May 29.

During the period, Vietnam saw 22 goods items with export value of over US$1 billion each (87.3% of the total). Six commodity groups posted the revenue of more than US$5 billion (63.8% of the total), including phones and spare parts (US$21.9 billion, up 19.6%); electronics, computers and components (US$19.5 billion, up 26%); machinery, equipment and spare parts (US$14.9 billion, up 74.8%); garments and textiles (US$12.2 billion, up 15%); footwear (US$8.5 billion, up 26.5%); and wood and timber products (US$6.6 billion, up 61.3%).

Between Jan and May, Vietnam spent US$131.31 billion importing products, up 36.4% over the same period last year, with the domestic sector reporting an import value of US$45.8 billion (up 30.2%) and the foreign-invested sector US$85.51 billion (up 39.9%). A total of 27 import items posted turnover of over US$1 billion, accounting for 84.4% of the total. As such, the country registered a trade deficit of US$369 million in the first five months of 2021.

The United States was the largest export market for Vietnamese goods during the period with a value of US$37.6 billion, up 49.8% year-on-year, followed by China (US$20.1 billion, up 26%), the European Union (US$16.1 billion, up 20.8%), ASEAN (US$11.5 billion, up 23.7%), the Republic of Korea (US$8.9 billion, up 17.1%), and Japan (US$8.4 billion, up 7.7%).

Meanwhile, Vietnam imported the most from China with the revenue of US$43.3 billion, up 52.8%, while the Republic of Korea and ASEAN markets followed with US$20.9 billion and US$18.1 billion, respectively.