Aerial view of Cat Lai Port, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Hong Dat/TTXVN
In terms of exports, the total value of goods in February 2024 reached $24.82 billion, a decrease of 28.1% compared to the previous month. Of this, domestic economic regions contributed $6.62 billion, a decrease of 30.6%, and foreign-invested areas (including crude oil) contributed $18.2 billion, a decrease of 27.2%.
Compared to the same period last year, exports in February decreased by 5%. Domestic economic regions increased by 0.9%, while foreign-invested areas (including crude oil) decreased by 7%.
Regarding imports of goods in February 2024, the estimated value was $23.72 billion, a decrease of 23.2% compared to the previous month. In the first two months of 2024, the total import value reached $54.62 billion, an increase of 18% compared to the same period last year. Domestic economic regions accounted for $19.67 billion, an increase of 27.4%, while foreign-invested areas accounted for $34.95 billion, an increase of 13.3%.
Therefore, the total export value for the first two months was $59.34 billion, an increase of 19.2% compared to the same period last year. There were 11 items with export values exceeding $1 billion, accounting for 75.1% of the total export value (including 4 items with export values exceeding $5 billion, accounting for 52.5%).
In terms of import group structure, in the first two months, the group of production materials reached $51.47 billion, accounting for 94.2% of the total. Of this, machinery, equipment, and spare parts accounted for 47%, raw materials accounted for 47.2%, and consumer goods accounted for $3.15 billion, accounting for 5.8%.
In the past two months, the US was Vietnam’s largest export market with an estimated value of $17.4 billion, an increase of 33.7% compared to the same period last year. Exports to China reached $8.1 billion, an increase of 7.7%, and exports to Japan reached $4.0 billion, an increase of 19.6%…
China was Vietnam’s largest import market in the first two months with an estimated value of $20.9 billion, an increase of 49.7%. Imports from ASEAN reached $6.5 billion, an increase of 2.2%, and imports from the EU reached $7.7 billion, an increase of 14.7%…
In the first two months of the year, Vietnam achieved a trade surplus of $15.2 billion with the US, an increase of 36.6% compared to the same period last year. The trade surplus with the EU reached $5.3 billion, an increase of 13.9%. The trade surplus with Japan was $0.4 billion (compared to a trade deficit of $0.2 billion in the same period last year). The trade deficit with China reached $12.8 billion, an increase of 98.2%, and the trade deficit with South Korea reached $3.7 billion, a decrease of 4.3%. The trade deficit with ASEAN was $1 billion, a decrease of 21.9%.
To achieve the goals set by the National Assembly for Vietnam’s international trade, the General Statistics Office proposes that the Ministry of Industry and Trade continue to improve mechanisms, policies, and create a favorable macroeconomic environment for exports; establish, revise, and supplement economic and trade policies that need to be implemented in a consistent and regular manner; create a favorable, transparent, and open business environment.
In addition, the Ministry of Industry and Trade needs to minimize risks from trade defense investigations in order to promote sustainable export growth; strengthen the forecasting and early warning of potential risks of investigations for businesses; and implement measures to prove that Vietnamese goods are not being dumped.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Industry and Trade needs to balance trade with partners by implementing more programs to help foreign enterprises access domestic enterprises. It should also provide more preferential import tax rates, especially for machinery and equipment from markets where Vietnam has a trade surplus…
At the local level, the Department of Industry and Trade in Ho Chi Minh City has been and continues to diversify solutions to support industrial, export-oriented, and consumer-driven production enterprises; ensure the growth of industrial and trade indices from the beginning of 2024.
Regarding the promotion of domestic consumption and expansion of export markets, the Department of Industry and Trade in Ho Chi Minh City continues to innovate activities to achieve the growth targets, such as meeting and connecting trade representative offices, foreign businesses, FDI, foreign business associations with domestic enterprises…
