Exports still up in first nine months despite pandemic: GSO
Vietnam maintained its upwards trend in exports at a time when COVID-19 has ravaged international trade, with year-on-year growth of 4.2% posted in the first nine months of 2020, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
At a press conference in Hanoi on September 29, GSO General Director Nguyen Thi Huong said total trade revenue reached US$388.73 billion between January and September, up 1.8% year-on-year.
Exports were estimated at US$202.86 billion, up 4.2%.
The domestic sector remained a driver of export growth, as it earned US$71.8 billion from shipments, up 20.2% and accounting for 35.4% of total exports. Meanwhile, the foreign-invested sector raked in US$131 billion, including crude oil sales, down 2.9% and making up 64.6% of the total.
Thirty commodities posted export revenue of more than US$1 billion, accounting for 91.3% of total exports. Five saw over US$10 billion in turnover each, accounting for 59.8%, the GSO reported.
Meanwhile, imports declined 0.8% year-on-year in the first nine months to US$185.87 billion, including US$82.3 billion imported by the domestic sector (up 4.7%) and US$103.5 billion by the foreign-invested sector (down 4.8%).
Thirty-two commodities posted over US$1 billion in import value each, or 88.3% of total imports.
The country posted a trade surplus of US$16.9 billion in January-September, compared to a surplus of US$7.27 billion in the same period last year, with domestic businesses posting a deficit of US$10.52 billion and foreign-invested enterprises a surplus of US$27.5 billion (including crude oil).
In September alone, exports declined 0.7% month-on-month to US$27.5 billion while imports increased 5.6% to US$24 billion, for a surplus of US$3.5 billion.
The figures rose 11% and 3% year-on-year in the third quarter, to US$80 billion and US$68.5 billion, respectively.