HÀ NỘI – Việt Nam recorded a trade surplus of US$5.39 billion in the first nine months of 2018, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said in a monthly report.

The foreign-invested sector enjoyed a trade surplus of $23.65 billion, but growth fell to 15 per cent year-on-year compared to 23 per cent growth in the first quarter due to difficulties finding export markets, the report noted.

The domestic sector reported a trade deficit of $18.26 billion in the period, but its exports experienced an encouraging increase of 17.5 per cent year-on-year to $51.07 billion, higher than 15 per cent jump posted in the first quarter.

The domestic sector’s positive export performance had contributed to a yearly rise of 15.4 per cent in the country’s nine-month export turnover of over $178.9 billion, nearly double the growth target set for the whole year by the National Assembly, GSO director Nguyễn Bích Lâm said.

According to the report, 26 export commodities brought in more than $1 billion in export value from January to September, making up 90.3 per cent of the country’s total export revenue.

Five of them grossed a revenue of more than $10 billion, accounting for 58.2 per cent of the total export value, including phones and accessories with $36.1 billion, up 15 per cent; textiles and garments ($22.6 billion, up 17.1 per cent); electronic products, computers and components ($21.6 billion, up 17 per cent); machinery, equipment and parts ($12.1 billion, up 29 per cent); and footwear ($11.8 billion, up 11 per cent). 

However, crude oil exports witnessed sharp declines in both value and volume compared to the same period of last year, standing at $1.7 billion, down 25 per cent in value despite an average increase of 38 per cent in global crude oil prices.

In the January - September period, the US remained Vietnam’s biggest export market, spending $34.9 billion on Vietnamese goods, up 13 per cent year-on-year, followed by the EU ($31.1 billion, up 10 per cent) and China ($28.1 billion, up 27 per cent). 

The country’s import value of commodities in the period saw a modest surge of 12 per cent to $173.52 billion. Of the sum, the foreign-invested sector contributed $104.2 billion, up 12 per cent, while the domestic sector made up $69.34 billion, up 11.7 per cent.

Key import items included electronics, computers and components, equipment and machinery, telephones and components, fabric, iron, steel, plastics, oil and gas, metal, footwear, chemicals, and garment and textile materials.

China remained Việt Nam’s largest import market during the period with turnover of $47.1 billion, a 12.5 per cent climb year-on-year. South Korea came next by exporting $35 billion worth of goods to Việt Nam, a rise of 1.4 per cent year-on-year, while ASEAN countries ranked third with $23.2 billion, up 13 per cent. -VNS