Trade deficit falls to $1.45 bln after surplus in October

In the first 10 months, exports rose by nearly 17 percent year-on-year to over $267.9 billion, with foreign enterprises accounting for $198.16 billion.

Steel exports rose by 132 percent to $9.65 billion, while exports of machinery, equipment, tools, and parts fetched nearly $29.6 billion, up 40 percent.

Imports rose by 28.2 percent to nearly $269.4 billion, the ministry said.

The U.S. remained Vietnam’s largest export destination with consignments of more than $76 billion, a year-on-year jump of nearly 22 percent, followed by China with $44.7 billion, the European Union with $31.7 billion, ASEAN with $23.03 billion, and Japan with $17.9 billion.

China was Vietnam’s biggest supplier of goods at of $89.43 billion, followed by South Korea with $45.52 billion, ASEAN with $33 billion, Japan with $18 billion, and the U.S. with $13 billion.

A surplus in the first four months of the year turned into a deficit since May, but it is expected to decrease further in the coming months as Vietnam further taps free trade agreements and global demand for goods increases, the ministry said.