Viet Nam maintained a trade surplus of about US$2.7 billion this year, the same figure as 2016, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The national trade value in 2017 was estimated at nearly $425 billion, representing a bright spot in the economic picture of the year, the office said. The value of exports was estimated at $213.77 billion, a year-on-year increase of 21 per cent, higher than the annual growth rate of 9 per cent in export value in 2016.

Meanwhile, the value of imports in 2017 was estimated at $211.1 billion, 20.8 per cent higher than 2016.

Foreign-invested companies notched a trade surplus of $28.8 billion, contributing substantially to the total national trade surplus, while the domestic economic sector continued to have trade deficit of $26.2 billion.

GSO said Samsung’s exports of new products contributed to the strong growth in the country’s export value this year because the group invested in expanding production of export products. At the same time, the expansion of production led to an increase in Samsung’s demand for imported machinery, equipment and raw materials.

The office said the FDI sector gained $155.2 billion from the exports, up 23 per cent year-on-year, while the domestic-invested sector achieved $58.5 billion, up 16.2 per cent.

The FDI sector paid $126.4 billion for its imports, an increase of 23.4 per cent. The domestic economic sector’s import value surged by 17 per cent to $84.7 billion.

Largest deficit with South Korea

The office said in 2017, China was the largest trading partner of Viet Nam but Viet Nam had the largest trade deficit with South Korea.

China’s two-way trade with Viet Nam was valued at $93.8 billion, of which exports to China reached $35.3 billion, up 60.6 per cent and imports from China reached $58.5 billion, up 16.9 per cent year-on-year.

However, Viet Nam’s trade deficit with China was estimated at $23.2 billion, down 17.4 per cent, being the second-largest trade deficit after that with South Korea.

Some Vietnamese commodities to China with strong exports included computers and components (up 73.5 per cent to $3 billion); fruits and vegetables (up 57.6 per cent to $1 billion); and phones and components (up 679.8 per cent to $5.4 billion due to higher demand).

Viet Nam’s imports of machinery, tools and spare parts increased by 19 per cent to $1.8 billion; of phones and components by 38.2 per cent to $2.3 billion; and of computer, electronic products and their components by 20.3 per cent to $1.2 billion.

Meanwhile, South Korea was the second largest trading partner after China with $61.8 billion in trade value, of which exports were valued at $15 billion, up 31.1 per cent, and imports at $46.8 billion, up 45.5 per cent year-on-year.

Therefore, Viet Nam had the largest trade deficit with South Korean at $31.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 53.4 per cent.

Viet Nam’s goods gaining high export value to South Korea included telephones and components (up 48.7 per cent to $1.3 billion); textiles and garments (up 18.4 per cent to $421 million); and computers and components (up 45.1 per cent to $565 million).

The nation also saw rising imports of computers, electronic products and components (up 76.1 per cent to $6.6 billion) and machinery, equipment and spare parts (up 50.1 per cent to $3 billion).

The US ranked third in two-way trade with $50.7 billion, of which export values reached the highest level of $41.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 8 per cent, and import value stood at $9.1 billion, up 4.9 per cent, reported BizLive.

The bilateral trade value with the EU reached $50.4 billion, including export value at $38.3 billion, up 12.8 per cent, and import value at $12 billion, up 7.7 per cent.

The trade value between Viet Nam and the ASEAN market was estimated at $49.7 billion in 2017, including export value at $21.7 billion, up 24.5 per cent, and import value at $28 billion, up 16.4 per cent.

The trade value with Japan stood at $33.3 billion, of which export were valued at $16.8 billion, up 14.2 per cent, and imports at $16.5 billion, up 9.7 per cent. — VNS