Q1 trade surplus close to $4 billion

By Minh Son April 19, 2020 | 07:31 pm PT

Shipping containers are seen at a port in Hai Phong City, northern Vietnam. Photo by Reuters/Kham.

A $2 billion trade surplus in March has boosted Vietnam’s first quarter surplus to $3.74 billion, the General Department of Vietnam Customs reported.

Total trade rose 5.7 percent year-on-year to $122.73 billion in the first quarter, of which $77 billion came from foreign-owned companies, up 3.8 percent.

The FDI sector's export and import were $42.55 billion and $34.82 billion respectively, leading to a trade surplus of $7.73 billion.

Asia accounted for nearly 65 percent of the country’s total trade at $79.52 billion, a 4 percent year-on-year rise. But imports to this market exceeded exports by nearly $16.5 billion.

Trade with the U.S. rose 18.3 percent – the highest – to $24.35 billion. Trade with Europe shrank by 2.8 percent to $15.16 billion.

Vietnam's foreign trade turnover in March reached $46.28 billion, a 17.4 percent increase over February. Of this, export and import exceeded $24 billion and $22 billion, up 15.7 percent and 19.2 percent year-on-year, respectively.

The country's main export items were still phones, computers, electronic devices and components, footwear, wood, seafood, and iron and steel, with phones and electronic components mostly coming from FDI companies.

The main imports were electronic components, computers and raw materials for the textile and footwear industries.