Vietnam racks up trade deficit of US$5.6 billion with ASEAN
VOV.VN - Trade turnover between Vietnam and ASEAN reached US$54.9 billion during the eight-month period, up 12.5% on-year, with the country posting a trade deficit of US$5.6 billion with the bloc, according to details given by the General Department of Vietnam Customs.
Throughout the reviewed period, Vietnam grossed US$$24.6 billion from exporting goods to ASEAN, up 12.6% on-year.
Thailand emerged as the country’s largest export market with turnover reaching US$5.23 billion, up 7.2% on-year; followed by Indonesia with US$$4.15 billion, a rise of 23.6%; and the Philippines with US$4.07 billion, up 17%.
Meanwhile, exports to Cambodia, Malaysia, and Singapore surged by 3.9%, 4.2%, and 26.3% to US$3.52 billion, US$3.48 billion, and US$3.46 billion, respectively.
On the contrary, exports to Brunei increased by 569% to reach US$197 million compared to the same period last year. Vietnam also earned US$429 million from exports to Laos, up 20.6% on-year.
With regard to imports, Vietnam spent US$30.2 billion on importing goods from ASEAN from January to August, up 12.4% on-year. Thailand was the largest importer within the ASEAN bloc with US$7.8 billion, an annual rise of 1.3%.
Total Vietnamese import turnover from six ASEAN markets such as Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, and the Philippines reached US$28.8 billion, duly accounting for 95% of the import proportion from the bloc during the eight-month period.
