Vietnam's total import-export turnover reached an estimated $107.32 billion in the first quarter, up 17.7 percent against the same period in 2017, according to data from the General Statistics Office (GSO).
Export value in the first three months increased to $54.31 billion, while imports registered $53.01 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $1.3 billion, statistics show.
Phones and components were the top exports in Q1, accounting for $12.3 billion, up 58.8 percent from last year. Textile and electronics components both brought in $6.3 billion, the GSO reported.
Foreign-invested sector exports (including crude oil) reached $39.34 billion, a 23.2 percent on-year increase. This sector accounted for 72.4 percent of total export value.
Vietnam’s export revenue expanded by 21 percent last year against 2016 to $213.7 billion, the highest in the past five years. Following what Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc called a “year of records”, the country is targeting export growth of 7-8 percent this year.