HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam witnessed a trade surplus of $1.23 billion so far this year, according to a report from the General Department of Customs.

In October alone, the report revealed that the import and export value was estimated at $37.9 billion, lightly increasing by 0.8 per cent, as compared to September. The export value was $19.4 billion and the import value was $18.5 billion, up 0.3 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively, making trade surplus of US$900 million in October.

The department said the total value of goods export and import of Việt Nam reached US$346.22 billion in the January-October period, registering a year-on-year increase of 21.3 per cent. Of the figures, the export value was $173.72 billion and the import value was $172.49 billion, increasing by 20.7 per cent and 22 per cent, respectively.

Phones and various devices led among the key export commodities, with a value of $36.54 billion in the first ten months of this year, up 28.8 per cent year-on-year. It was followed by garment and textiles products, computers and electronic devices and components and shoes, with values of $21.51 billion, $21 billion, and $11.7 billion, respectively.

Other commodities included machines and parts, wood and wood products, seafood, vehicles and parts, coffee and crude oil.

Meanwhile, Việt Nam had to import computers and electronic devices and components, various fabric, various phones and components and various steel products, as well as materials for textiles, garment and shoes, petrol, metals and chemical products.

The department estimated that some VNĐ23 trillion will be sent to the State Budget in October, registering VNĐ237 trillion ($10.4 billion) in the January-October period, up 10.2 per cent, as compared to the same period last year.

Veggie, fruit exports up

Việt Nam’s export value of vegetables and fruits in the first 10 months of this year was estimated at $2.84 billion.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said this was a year-on-year increase of 41.2 per cent.

The ministry said China, Japan, the United States and South Korea were the top four importers of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables in the first nine months of this year, accounting for 76 per cent, 3.6 per cent, 2.9 per cent and 2.6 per cent of the total vegetable and fruit exports volume, respectively.

The export value of these products in October was $209 million, said the ministry, adding that the fruit market in October had different developments for different types of fruit, vov.vn reported.

The coconut price in Bến Tre Province decreased due to lower demand in the Northern market in the cold weather, and high competition with Thai coconuts in the US and Chinese markets.

Meanwhile, the price of longan at the farms in Bình Phước Province increased to VNĐ12,000-14,000 per kilo from VNĐ8,000 in August because of higher demand, as the supply of other fruits had reduced in the South.

Prices of dragon fruits in some Mekong Delta provinces also surged to between VNĐ25,000 per kilo for white flesh dragon fruits and VNĐ55,000 per kilo for red flesh dragon fruits, due to a lower supply of the product for exports.

The ministry said continuous heavy rains affected the productivity and quality of vegetables in the northern and southern provinces, causing the prices to increase sharply. — VNS