Preliminary assessment of Vietnam international merchandise trade performance in whole year 2019

Highlights

1.  According to trade statistics of Vietnam Customs, in December 2019, a 1.7% increase in total external merchandise turnover of Vietnam was recorded on a month-on-month basis. Exports went down 1.0 %, to USD 22.56 billion and imports increased 4.5%, to USD 22.30 billion as compared to the result of November 2019. As a result, there was a USD 0.26 billion surplus in Vietnam’s trade balance in this month.

2. In whole year 2019, Vietnam‘s trade-in-goods totaled US dollars 517.26 billion in value terms, 7.6% above the corresponding period of last year. As compared to result of a year earlier, total merchandise exports value rose 8.4%; to US dollars 264.19 billion and the total merchandise imports value grew up 6.8% to US dollars 253.07 billion. Accordingly, Vietnam’s trade balance in this period was in the surplus of US dollars 11.12 billion.

3. Trade data disseminated recently by Vietnam Customs announced that the total value of exportation and importation by foreign direct invested (FDI) traders reached USD 322.84 billion in total from beginning to December 2019, up by 3.2% as compared to the result of corresponding period of 2018. Total value of FDI exportation was USD 179.20 billion, went up by 4.3%. On import side, the total value of those companies was USD 144.64 billion, went up by 1.9%.

Main Exports and Imports  

4. On a month-on-month basis, a downward in total merchandise exports was due to the downturns in telephones, mobile phones and parts thereof (down by USD 1.64 billion); still image, video cameras and parts thereof (down by USD 63 million); fishery products (down by USD 41 million); …

 5. On a year-on-year basis, exports grew up USD 20.49 billion. The main products, which contributed to the increase, were computers, electrical products and parts thereof (up by USD 6.36 billion); textiles and garments (up by USD 2.37 billion); telephones, mobile phones and parts thereof (up by USD 2.16 billion); foot-wears (up by USD 2.08 billion); …

6. On a month-on-month basis, an increase in total merchandise imports was due to the downwards of the commodities as follows: machine, equipment, tools and instruments  (up by USD 451 million); crude oil (up by USD 95 million); coal (up by USD 85 million); animal fodders and animal fodder materials (up by USD 63 million); …

7. On a year-on-year basis, imports went up USD 16.2 billion. An expansion in imports was mainly contributed by the upturns of the following products: computers, electrical products, spare-parts and components thereof (up by USD 8.22 billion); machine, equipment, tools and instruments (up by USD 3.87 billion); motor vehicles (up by USD 1.33 billion); … 

    Trading Partners

8. In the whole year 2019, Vietnamese merchandise trade with trading partners in Asia was totaled USD 338.35 billion in value terms, which moved up 5.1% as compared to the same period of 2018. Trade-in-goods of Vietnam with America was followed, which reached USD 96.35 billion and increased by 23%. The values of other continents were Europe: USD 65.90 billion, up by 2.8%; Oceania: USD 9.60 billion, up by 4.0% and Africa: USD 7.07 billion, up by 1.2% in comparison with the same period of last year.

9. For January-December period of 2019, 4 importing markets of Vietnam with turnover of over USD 19 billion were: The United States of America (reached USD 61.3 billion); China (reached USD 41.4 billion); Japan (reached USD 20.4 billion); Republic of Korea (reached USD 19.7 billion).