Imports and exports flourishes in the first month of the year

	Imports and exports through Dong Dang International Railway Station are continuously being interrupted
	Import-export value exceeds US$200 billion
	Deficit of more than $ US 2.56 billion

Infographic of the main features of the country's imports and exports in January 2019. Photo: Thai Binh

A record result in the first month of the year

According to the recent statistics from the General Department of Customs, total import-export turnover in January 2019 reached more than US$ 43 billion, the highest level compared to the first months in recent years. For example, import and export turnover in January, 2019 was nearly US$ 2.9 billion higher than in January, 2018. And this result was nearly twice higher than the average of about US$ 23 billion / month for the whole period 2012-2018.

In addition to the record turnover, from the Customs statistics, there are many positive signs of Vietnam's foreign trade activities. In the month, domestic enterprises have higher growth rate than foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises. Specifically, the total import and export value of domestic enterprises increased to US$ 1.92 billion, while FDI enterprises’ only increased US$ 973 million.

Another remarkable sign is related to the trade balance. In the first 15 days of January, the whole country had a deficit of nearly US$ 1 billion, but thanks to the breakthrough in the last days of the month, the trade balance was placed back on track with a big trade surplus which was maintained from 2018, with a surplus of US$ 816 million in January. However, the trade surplus still relied on FDI enterprises with a trade surplus of US$ 2.64 billion, while the domestic enterprises saw a trade deficit of US$ 1.83 billion. This is also explainable because FDI enterprises mainly operate in the field of export processing and production or processing, meanwhile domestic enterprises import a lot of goods for consumption.

Regarding the development of key export products, in January 2019 the total export value reached US$ 22.07 billion, up by US$ 1.8 billion compared to January 2018. In which, 3 commodity groups making the biggest contribution to this increase was textile products with an increase of US$ 810 million; machinery and equipment and spare parts with an increase of US$ 415 million; and footwear with an increase of US$ 351 million. All 3 groups are in the 5 over billion-dollar export club in the first month of 2019.

In terms of imports, the total import value gained US $ 21.26 billion, an increase of US $ 1.09 billion compared to January 2018. In which, turnover increased strongly in commodity groups such as machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts that increased by US$ 522 million; crude oil increased by US $ 390 million; CBU cars of all types increased by US$ 256 million; coal of all kinds increased by US$ 205 million, etc.

Noticeably, the import value of machinery and equipment and spare parts reached a record result of US$ 3.41 billion, an increase of 18.1%, and the import volume of CBU cars was 11,658 units, 47 times higher than the same period in 2018; the import amount of coal was also at the top with 3.12 million tons, up strongly by 175.5% compared to the same period of 2018 and so on.

A surplus with the United States, a deficit with China and South Korea

In the markets, the three biggest trading partners are still China, South Korea and the United States. In which, Vietnam had the highest trade surplus with the US market with nearly US$ 4.08 billion, an year-on-year rise of 49%.

In January, exports to the US increased sharply by 42.2%, but to China it decreased by 23.2%. Exports to the US saw a sharp increase in 3 main commodity groups, including: Textiles reached US$ 1.59 billion, up 34.2%; footwear reached US$ 620 million, up 22.6%; wood and wood products reached US$ 474 million, up 489%.

With a turnover of $US 25.5 billion, China is the biggest trading partner of Vietnam VCN- The total value of imports and exports between Vietnam and China continues to increase. Notably, Vietnam's ...

Meanwhile, Vietnam still suffered from a big trade deficit from China and South Korea. However, at the end of 2018, our country's trade deficit with South Korea was the highest, and with China it ranked second. In January 2019, the trade deficit with China surpassed South Korea and returned to the track of previous years. Specifically, Vietnam's trade deficit from China was US$ 3.74 billion, up by 78% compared to January 2018; meanwhile, the deficit with South Korea was US$ 2.26 billion, down by 17%.