Ho Chi Minh City exports were up 5.1% and imports saw a surge of 26% in the first half of this year as compared to the same period in 2020, resulting in a trade surplus of US$4.53 billion, according to the municipal Statistic Office.

Hanoi earned US$7.16 billion from exports in the first half of 2021, up 4.5% year on year, the municipal Statistics Office estimated.

Global demand for goods is recovering and this is an opportunity for Vietnam to boost its exports of consumer and industrial products, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

VOV.VN - Amid increasingly complicated developments relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam's import and export activities during the past four months of the year maintained their growth momentum and recorded the highest growth rate seen over the past decade, according to insiders.

Despite a rise in export revenue in the first four months of this year, experts suggested that businesses should not be too optimistic as the COVID-19 pandemic has seen complicated developments both in and outside the country.

Shipments of products from the processing industry brought in about US$67.39 billion in the first quarter of this year, representing 87.13% of Vietnam’s total export value during the period.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) firms’ import-export value reached US$68.52 billion in the first two months of 2021, a surge of 31.5% from the same period last year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

Vietnamese enterprises should take advantage of online marketing channels, re-arrange production and business orientations and strategies, and bring into full play advantages brought by free trade agreements if they want to achieve sustainable export growth, according to insiders.

VOV.VN - Amid complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic globally, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has set an export growth target of between 4% and 5% for this year, with a specific focus on taking full advantage of new-generation free trade agreements, said Tran Thanh Hai, deputy director of the Import and Export Department.

Of the six ASEAN nations, only Vietnam posted an increase in exports for 2020, up 7% to US$282.66 billion, according to The Straits Times.