Vietnam’s trade surplus hits USD 2.7 billion in 2017

The national trade value in 2017 was estimated at nearly USD 425 billion, representing a bright spot in the economic picture of the year, the office said. The value of exports was estimated at USD 213.77 billion, a year-on-year increase of 21 percent, higher than the annual growth rate of 9 percent in export value in 2016.

Meanwhile, the value of imports in 2017 was estimated at USD 211.1 billion, 20.8 percent higher than 2016.

Vietnam’s trade surplus hits USD 2.7 billion in 2017. (Photo for illustration: ndh.vn)

Foreign-invested companies notched a trade surplus of USD 28.8 billion, contributing substantially to the total national trade surplus, while the domestic economic sector continued to have trade deficit of USD 26.2 billion.

GSO said Samsung’s exports of new products contributed to the strong growth in the country’s export value this year because the group invested in expanding production of export products. At the same time, the expansion of production led to an increase in Samsung’s demand for imported machinery, equipment and raw materials.

The office said the FDI sector gained USD 155.2 billion from the exports, up 23 percent year-on-year, while the domestic-invested sector achieved USD 58.5 billion, up 16.2 percent.

The FDI sector paid USD 126.4 billion for its imports, an increase of 23.4 percent. The domestic economic sector’s import value surged by 17 percent to USD 84.7 billion.

The office said in 2017, China was the largest trading partner of Vietnam but the Southeast Asian nation had the largest trade deficit with the Republic of Korea.

China’s two-way trade with Vietnam was valued at USD 93.8 billion, of which exports to China reached USD 35.3 billion, up 60.6 percent and imports from China reached USD 58.5 billion, up 16.9 percent year-on-year.

However, Vietnam’s trade deficit with China was estimated at USD 23.2 billion, down 17.4 percent, being the second-largest trade deficit after that with the Republic of Korea.

Some Vietnamese commodities to China with strong exports included computers and components (up 73.5 percent to USD 3 billion); fruits and vegetables (up 57.6 percent to USD 1 billion); and phones and components (up 679.8 percent to USD 5.4 billion due to higher demand).

Vietnam’s imports of machinery, tools and spare parts increased by 19 percent to USD 1.8 billion; of phones and components by 38.2 percent to USD 2.3 billion; and of computer, electronic products and their components by 20.3 percent to USD 1.2 billion.

Meanwhile, the Republic of Korea was the second largest trading partner after China with USD 61.8 billion in trade value, of which exports were valued at USD 15 billion, up 31.1 percent, and imports at USD 46.8 billion, up 45.5 percent year-on-year.

Therefore, Vietnam had the largest trade deficit with the RoK at USD 31.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 53.4 percent.

Vietnam’s goods gaining high export value to the Republic of Korea included telephones and components (up 48.7 percent to USD 1.3 billion); textiles and garments (up 18.4 percent to USD 421 million); and computers and components (up 45.1 percent to USD 565 million).

The nation also saw rising imports of computers, electronic products and components (up 76.1 percent to USD 6.6 billion) and machinery, equipment and spare parts (up 50.1 percent to USD 3 billion).

The US ranked third in two-way trade with USD 50.7 billion, of which export values reached the highest level of USD 41.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 8 percent, and import value stood at USD 9.1 billion, up 4.9 percent, reported BizLive.

The bilateral trade value with the EU reached USD 50.4 billion, including export value at USD 38.3 billion, up 12.8 percent, and import value at USD 12 billion, up 7.7 percent.

The trade value between Vietnam and the ASEAN market was estimated at USD 49.7 billion in 2017, including export value at USD 21.7 billion, up 24.5 per cent, and import value at USD 28 billion, up 16.4 percent.

The trade value with Japan stood at USD 33.3 billion, of which export were valued at USD 16.8 billion, up 14.2 percent, and imports at USD 16.5 billion, up 9.7 percent.