10 months, trade surplus reaches new record

According to the latest data from the General Department of Customs, the total export value of the country in October 2023 is estimated at 32.31 billion USD, an increase of 5.3% (equivalent to an increase of 1.62 billion USD) compared to the previous month.

Meanwhile, imports in October are estimated at 29.31 billion USD, up 2.9% (equivalent to an increase of 823 million USD) compared to the previous month.

Record trade surplus after 10 months (Photo: Can Dung)

Total imports and exports in October 2023 are estimated at 61.61 billion USD, up 4.1% (equivalent to an increase of 2.45 billion USD) compared to the previous month. Thus, the trade balance in October is estimated to have a trade surplus of 3 billion USD.

In the first 10 months of 2023, the total import and export turnover of the whole country is estimated at 557.95 billion USD, down 9.6% (equivalent to a decrease of 59.49 billion USD) over the same period in 2022.

Of which, exports in the first 10 months of 2023 are estimated at 291.28 billion USD, down 7.1% (equivalent to a decrease of 22.22 billion USD) over the same period in 2022; imports in the first 10 months are estimated at 266.67 billion USD, down 12.3% (equivalent to a decrease of 37.27 billion USD) over the same period in 2022.

Thus, after 10 months, the estimated trade balance surplus was 24.6 billion USD.

Previously, in 2022, the country's total import-export turnover reached 730.28 billion USD, an increase of 9.2%, equivalent to an increase of 61.28 billion USD compared to 2021. Of which, exports reached 371.3 billion USD, an increase of 10.5% (equivalent to an increase of 35.14 billion USD) and imports reached 358.9 billion USD, an increase of 7.9% (equivalent to an increase of 26.14 billion USD).

Vietnam's trade balance of goods in 2022 had a surplus of 12.4 billion USD, much higher than the surplus of 3.33 billion USD in 2021.

The trade surplus is a positive sign in the foreign trade picture. However, according to experts, the market picture in the last months of the year has not shown many clear signs of recovery, the inventory of importers and domestic enterprises is high, while demand is still low.

Meanwhile, export markets in general and the EU in particular have increasingly strict requirements for imported goods, especially agricultural products. Some of Vietnam's key export industries such as: seafood, wood and wood products, iron and steel, plastic products are facing pressure from trade defense investigations, which have created difficulties in export markets in recent times.

At the same time, protectionist policies of countries are increasing. Developed countries are increasingly concerned about consumer safety, sustainable development, and climate change - the premise for establishing new standards and regulations related to supply chains, raw materials, labor, and the environment for imported products. In addition, the risk of economic recession, inflation, and interest rates continue to remain high in Vietnam's major trading partners (the US, the EU, etc.).

Therefore, in the face of unprecedented risks and challenges that export activities are facing, it is necessary to prepare timely response solutions to achieve the set export growth target of about 6%.

Accordingly, export enterprises need to continue to make good use of trade agreements, especially signed free trade agreements (FTAs), and make more efforts in trade promotion activities, promote market and industry diversification to reduce dependence on traditional markets/industries, specifically expanding exports to markets in Northern Europe, Eastern Europe, Latin America, etc.

The potential in FTA markets is still quite large, opening up many opportunities for domestic enterprises. However, to exploit FTA markets well, it is necessary to meet the requirements of origin, along with changes in raw materials and production lines to meet the requirements of customers.

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