Foreign trade by of HCM City-based enterprises showed clear signs of recovery in October, increasing by 25.8 per cent from the previous month to US$11.7 billion, according to the customs department.

Exports rose by 4.7 per cent to $4.4 billion, and imports by 48.9 percent to $7.3 billion.

The main export items were computers, electronic components, high-tech equipment, textiles, footwear, fisheries, and agricultural products.

Dinh Ngoc Thang, director of the department, said the COVID-19 pandemic and many months of restrictions had severely affected businesses. His agency would facilitate quick clearance of goods and crack down on fakes to help businesses, especially during the peak year-end foreign trade period.

The country’s imports in the first nine months were worth $242.65 billion, a 30.5 per cent increase from the same period last year.

The US remained the biggest market, buying $69.8 billion worth of Vietnamese products, a year-on-year rise of 27.6 per cent. China followed at $38.5 billion, up 18.3 per cent. The EU and ASEAN were next in the list. — VNS