Hanoi (VNA) – With global market recovery and increased number of orders, Vietnam’s imports and exports♊ in the first half of 2024 continued to reap positive results.

Positive growth in major markets

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam’s export value was estimated at 33.09 billion USD in June, an increase of 2.6% compared to the previous month. In the second quarter of 2024, the export value was estimated to hit 97.2 billion USD, up 12.5% compared to the same period last year and up 4.6% compared to the first quarter of 2024. In the first six months of 2024, the country's total export value was estimated at 190.08 billion USD, up 14.5% compared to the same period last year. Specifically, the export of agricultural products in the first half of this year reached 18.37 billion USD, up 19.9% compared to the same period in 2023, accounting for 9.67% of the country's total export value. The exports of processing and manufacturing industrial goods topped 160.3 billion USD, accounting for 84.3% of total export turnover and 14.1% higher than that of the same period in 2023. Many products in this group achieved high export turnover growth rates, such as cameras, video cameras and components (52.9%), computers, electronic products and components (28.6%), plastic products (29.7%), and wood and wood products (22.2%). In addition, exports of mineral fuel products were estimated to reach 2.18 billion USD, up 7.8% over the same period in 2023.

Thanks to drastic measures for trade promotion and market expansion, Vietnam’s exports to almost all of the country’s major markets recovered and posted two-digit growth in the first half of this year. According to statistics, Vietnam’s exports to the US reached 54.3 billion USD, accounting for 28.6% of the country's total export turnover and increasing by 22.1% over the same period last year. Vietnam’s exports to China reached 27.8 billion USD, up 5.3%; the EU 24.46 billion USD, up 14.1%; and the Republic of Korea 12.2 billion USD, up 10.4%.

Focus on market solutions

In the opposite direction, in June, Vietnam spent 30.15 billion USD on importing goods, down 7.9% compared to the previous month. In the first six months of 2024, the country’s import turnover was estimated at 178.45 billion USD, up 17% over the same period last year. Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) said that Vietnam’s import structure in the first half of the year showed positive signs. Up to 88.8% of total import turnover served domestic production as import items were mainly machinery, equipment, tools, spare parts and raw materials. Due to the strong recovery of production and export, the demand for imported machinery, equipment and raw materials for domestic production increased, resulting in the rise in imports from almost all major markets. According to statistics, imports from China increased by 34.7% over the same period last year and accounted for nearly 37.6% of the country's total import turnover. It was followed by the RoK (up 7.4%) and ASEAN (up 12.3%). Thus, in the first six months of 2024, Vietnam posted a trade surplus of 11.63 billion USD.

To continue promoting exports, the MoIT has implemented many solutions, focusing on supporting businesses to effectively exploit Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), while speeding up negotiations and signing of new FTAs, new economic links to diversify markets, as well as supply chains and boost exports. At the same time, the ministry supported businesses to strongly shift to official exports associated with brand building, while focusing on promoting trade promotion and market access solutions. Director of the MoIT’s Trade Promotion Agency Vu Ba Phu said that in the coming time, the department will strengthen communications and promotion to improve the competitiveness of Vietnamese products. It will also boost training and improve trade promotion capacity for businesses on digital platforms and e-commerce. The plan includes raising awareness among the business community on green transformation and sustainable production to help them increase their competitiveness./.