Healthy exports and imports marked Vietnam’s March 2018 and first quarter performance, leading to vigorous international merchandise trade turnover for the Southeast Asian nation, according to the latest statistics from Vietnam Customs.
Last month, the country recorded a total trade value of US$40 billion, a 41.1% expansion in international merchandise trade month-on-month. Exports rose 47.5% to $21.13 billion and imports leapt 34.5% to $18.88 billion as compared to the result of February 2018. As a result, there was a $2.26 million surplus in Vietnam’s trade balance for this month.
Year-on-year, Vietnam’s March trade picked up by 12.4%, as exports went up 23.2% and imports inched up 2.4%.
From the beginning to March of 2018, Vietnam’s trade-in-goods totaled $108.43 billion in value terms, 18.9% above the corresponding period of last year. Year-on-year, total merchandise exports value rose 24.8% to $55.56 billion and total merchandise imports value increased 13.3% to $52.87 billion. Accordingly, Vietnam’s trade surplus in the first quarter of 2018 amounted to $2.69 billion.
On a month-on-month basis, the increase in total merchandise exports in the first quarter was due to the upturn in outbound shipments of telephones, mobile phones and parts; textiles and garments; computers, electrical products, spare parts and components; and machines, equipment, tools and instruments.
Year-on-year, Q1 exports expanded by $11.05 billion. The main products that contributed to the increase were telephones, mobile phones and parts; textiles and garments; machines, equipment, tools and instruments; and computers, electrical products, spare parts and components.
On Vietnam’s trading partners in the first quarter of 2018, merchandise trade with Asia totaled $72.49 billion in value terms, which is up 18.6% compared to the same period of 2017. America followed, with Vietnam’s trade-in-goods reaching $17.32 billion, higher by 17.8%. Trade with Europe hit $15 billion, up by 20.1%; Oceania, $2.04 billion, up by 27.3%; and Africa, $1.59 billion, up by 27.7% in comparison with the same period last year.
Photo: Fbrandao.1963
