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According to the information from the Conference on Summarizing the Work in 2024 and Deploying Tasks for the Industry and Trade Sector in 2025, despite numerous challenges, Vietnam’s economy continued to demonstrate a clear recovery, with each month and quarter showing better performance than the previous one.
It is expected that Vietnam’s economic growth rate in 2024 could reach and exceed 7%, placing the country among the few high-growth nations in the region and the world.
This is a very positive outcome, especially considering the implementation of salary increases from July 1, 2024, and adjustments to the prices of some goods and services towards the end of the year, while keeping inflation under control at below 4%.
Major balances were ensured, especially energy security and the balance of supply and demand for essential goods and raw materials for production…
Along with this, the Vietnamese economy recorded many remarkable achievements and historical records.
Trade Turnover Reaches Historic Milestone of Approximately $800 Billion
The import and export activities in 2024 witnessed a strong recovery. Total trade turnover is expected to reach $800 billion, an increase of 15%, nearly two and a half times higher than the government’s target of about 6%. Of this, exports are estimated at over $400 billion, up 14.4%, while imports increased by 16.4%. The trade balance maintained a high surplus of about $25 billion, marking the 9th consecutive year of trade surplus.
There were 36 export commodities with a turnover of over $1 billion (compared to 33 in the same period last year), accounting for 94.1% of the total export turnover (including 7 export commodities with a turnover of over $10 billion, making up 66.5%). Meanwhile, there were 44 import commodities with a value of over $1 billion, accounting for 92.6% of the total import turnover (including 5 import commodities with a value of over $10 billion, accounting for 51.4%).
The 500 kV Line 3 Project Sets Multiple Records
The 500kV Line 3 Quang Trach – Pho Noi Project, with a total length of about 519 km and consisting of 1,177 towers, presented a formidable challenge with its tallest tower standing at 145 meters and heaviest tower weighing 415 tons. The project was carried out amid harsh weather conditions and traversed treacherous terrain.
However, after just over six months of construction and an enormous amount of work, the project set records in terms of construction time, workload, resource mobilization, and problem-solving mechanisms. This feat is not only a triumph for the electricity sector but also a remarkable achievement for Vietnam, showcasing the rapid execution of a complex project within an incredibly short period. This was accomplished despite adverse weather conditions and challenging terrain.
E-commerce Surpasses $25 Billion Milestone
Despite the challenges faced by the global and regional economy, Vietnam’s e-commerce continued to maintain an impressive growth rate of 18-25% annually.
In 2024, the e-commerce market size is expected to surpass the $25 billion mark, a 20% increase compared to 2023, accounting for about 9% of the country’s total retail sales of goods and service revenue.
Currently, the e-commerce market size accounts for two-thirds of the country’s digital economy value, propelling Vietnam into the top 10 countries with the fastest-growing e-commerce in the world. This development is driving economic growth and leading the digital transformation of businesses.
Breakthrough in Tapping into Potential Large Markets
On October 28, 2024, after more than a year of negotiations, Vietnam and the UAE successfully concluded the Vietnam-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). This is the first FTA that Vietnam has signed with an Arab country, opening a new chapter in the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.
The conclusion of the Agreement after just over a year of negotiations also sets a new record, reflecting the proactive and leading role of the Ministry of Industry and Trade in international economic cooperation. With this Agreement, Vietnam now has a total of 19 signed and negotiated FTAs, further expanding its global trade integration.
This Agreement opens up numerous opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to enter the Halal market. The global Halal industry is currently thriving, serving over 2 billion Muslims worldwide. The Halal economy is projected to surpass $7 trillion in 2024 and reach approximately $10 trillion by 2028.
Establishing Halal standards from production to distribution is becoming an important trend, presenting a significant opportunity for Vietnamese enterprises. As the Halal market primarily serves agricultural products, tapping into this market will fundamentally solve the issue of agricultural exports for Vietnam.
Industry Makes a Strong Comeback with Spectacular Growth
In 2024, domestic industrial production for the first 11 months of the year showed an estimated growth of 8.4%, a significant improvement over the 0.9% increase in the same period in 2023.
Among the industries, manufacturing and processing recorded a rise of 9.7% (compared to 1.0% in the same period last year), contributing 8.5 percentage points to the overall growth. It has regained its role as the main driver of economic growth. Industrial production also recovered and expanded across the country, with 60 out of 63 provinces and centrally-run cities experiencing growth in their industrial production indices.
Additionally, in 2024, agricultural, forestry, and fishery production and exports witnessed a breakthrough. The production value grew by over 3.2%, and for the first time, agricultural exports surpassed $60 billion (estimated at $62.7 billion in 2024), a rise of over 18% compared to 2023, with 11 commodities maintaining an export turnover of over $1 billion.
Furthermore, the domestic market grew steadily (nearly 9%). Trade promotion underwent a strong innovation with the largest-ever series of events, and Vietnam’s country brand value surpassed $500 billion, ranking 32nd globally.
