Vietnam slips into $100 mln trade deficit

The General Statistics Office (GSO) estimates export turnover in January at $19 billion, down 14.3 percent year-on-year, and imports down 11.3 percent to $19.1 billion.

The export of some products has dropped sharply in January, with textiles and garments slumping 21 percent year-on-year to $2.6 billion, followed by phones and components, down 22.4 percent to $2.6 billion, and footwear, down 9.7 percent to $1.6 billion.

However, this was partially offset by smaller increases in exports of electronics, computers and components, and wood related products.

The U.S. continued to be Vietnam’s biggest export market with a turnover of $4.8 billion, down 7.6 percent year-on-year, followed by China, to which exports surged 32.8 percent to $3.7 billion. The EU, the ASEAN and Japan were Vietnam’s next biggest export markets in January.

China was Vietnam’s largest source of imports, accounting for 32.5 percent of import turnover, followed by South Korea, ASEAN, Japan and the EU.

Last year, Vietnam recorded a trade surplus of $11.12 billion, the highest trade surplus ever, up 62.9 percent over 2018, according to Vietnam Customs.