With an additional 3 billion USD in October, Vietnam's trade balance remained in surplus for the tenth month, reaching a total of over 24.6 billion USD—the highest level in five years.

DNHN - The trade surplus in the first ten months of this year increased more than 2.5 times compared to the same period last year, with over 24.6 billion USD, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade's industrial production

The trade surplus in the first ten months of this year increased more than 2.5 times compared to the same period last year, with over 24.6 billion USD, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade's industrial production and trade report from October. Furthermore, with the exception of 2021, when the Covid-19 trade deficit exceeded 1.4 billion USD, this is the highest level of 10 months in the previous 5 years.

The foreign investment sector, which includes crude oil, had a trade surplus of 42.6 billion USD, compared to the domestic economic sector's nearly 18 billion USD trade deficit. The Ministry of Industry and Trade declared that "trade surplus supports the international balance of payments, ensures major economic balances, and contributes to macroeconomic stability."

However, due to a deeper decline in imports than exports, Vietnam saw a trade balance surplus this year, unlike every other year.

According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, imports reached 29.3 billion USD in October, an increase of almost 3%. Nevertheless, this goal fell short of the previous year's target by more than 12% in the last ten months, or roughly 267 billion USD.

A reduction of nearly 236 billion USD in imports of raw materials for production occurred during the same period, owing to challenges in the export market, orders declining, and cooling raw material prices. This represents a decrease of over 12%.

With the exception of computers and electronic components, which saw a 0.8% increase, the majority of significant product categories and production inputs saw double-digit declines. For instance, all phone and component types saw a decrease of over 60%, and all steel and iron types saw a decrease of 17.3%. Additionally, the group of goods that require control shrank by 18%.

China continues to be Vietnam's top export destination, worth almost 90 billion USD, although its share of the market has dropped significantly from the same period in 2022 to over 10%. In a similar vein, imports from the ASEAN market dropped by 15% and from Korea by 19%, totaling 33.5 billion USD.

Conversely, exports appear to be improving as the decline gets smaller. Because of growing prices and opportunities for market expansion, agricultural products, rice, and fruits are the "salvage" for exports. 33 products brought in more than $1 billion in export revenue.

PV / h