In November alone, Việt Nam's export turnover was $24.8 billion, up 8.8 per cent compared with the same month last year. — Photo baoquocte.vn

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam posted a trade surplus of US$20.1 billion in the first 11 months of this year, the highest on record, despite the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The GSO said the country’s total trade value in the first 11 months was estimated at $489.1 billion, a year-on-year rise of 3.5 per cent. Export value reached $254.6 billion, up 5.3 per cent and import value stood at $234.5 billion, up 1.5 per cent.

In November alone, export turnover was $24.8 billion, down 9 per cent from the previous month, but up 8.8 per cent compared with the same month last year.

Between January and November, the domestic economic sector generated about $73 billion in export value, up 1.6 per cent, making up 28.7 per cent of the total. Meanwhile, the foreign-invested sector, including crude oil, recorded $181.6 billion, up 6.9 per cent, accounting for 71.3 per cent of the total.

Thirty-one groups of commodities joined the billion-dollar export product club, including 10 groups posting more than $10 billion.

The heavy and mining industry raked in $138 billion, up 9.2 per cent year-on-year. The light and handicrafts industry had an export value of $90.2 billion, up 1.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, the agro-forestry export value reduced slightly by 0.1 per cent year-on-year to $18.7 billion and seafood export value plunged by 0.9 per cent to $7.7 billion.

The US remained the largest export market of Vietnamese goods in the 11 months, with a turnover of $69.9 billion, up 25.7 per cent year-on-year.

It was followed by China, with $43.1 billion, up 16 per cent; the EU, $32.2 billion, down 2.4 per cent; ASEAN, $20.9 billion, down 10.6 per cent; the Republic of Korea (RoK), $17.7 billion, down 2.7 per cent; and Japan, $17.3 billion, down 6.5 per cent.

To meet export targets of this year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has asked its departments and agencies to support enterprises in their efforts to promote production and business.

The key solution is export promotion activities in markets that have recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, the MoIT will also focus on monitoring export markets to review and identify goods that countries need to import while exploiting free trade agreements to diversify export markets.

The GSO also reported that total imports in November were estimated at $24.2 billion, down 0.5 per cent month-on-month but up 13.4 per cent year-on-year.

As many as 34 kinds of goods saw import turnover exceeding $1 billion, 89.4 per cent of the total.

China remained Việt Nam’s largest import source, with a revenue of $73.9 billion, up 7.9 per cent against the same period last year.

It was followed by the RoK, with $42 billion, down 2.9 per cent; ASEAN, $27.3 billion, down 6.9 per cent; Japan, $18.6 billion, up 4.8 per cent; the EU, $13.2 billion, up 4.3 per cent; and the US, $12.6 billion, down 3.6 per cent. — VNS