Domestic firms drag down country’s trade surplus
Domestic firms drag down country’s trade surplus
The foreign direct investment (FDI) sector posted a trade surplus of more than US$15 billion, but domestic enterprises suffered a trade deficit of nearly US$13.5 billion in the first half of the year, thus pushing down the country’s trade surplus to only US$1.6 billion.
According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, Vietnam exported US$21.43 billion worth of products and spent US$19.49 billion on imports last month, helping the country enjoy a trade surplus of US$1.93 billion in June and a trade surplus in the first six months after a trade deficit of US$434 million in the January-May period.
In the first half of the year, the nation fetched some US$122.53 billion from exports, while its import bill reached US$120.94 billion, up 7.2% and 8.9% year-on-year, respectively.
Of the total, the FDI sector contributed US$84.45 billion in exports and US$69.41 in imports.
The customs’ report also showed that Asia accounted for the largest proportion of Vietnam’s total import-export turnover in the period, at US$159.69 billion, but Vietnam ran a trade deficit of US$34.7 billion with this market.
Meanwhile, American countries reported the highest growth rate in trade value with Vietnam, at 20.9% over the same period last year, reaching US$44.06 billion.
