According to the General Department of Customs of Vietnam, for the first six months of 2019 Vietnam has a trade surplus of USD 1.59 billion. Exports during this period increased by 7.2% y-o-y to USD 122.53 billion.
The increase in export value is attributable to the development of the processing and Manufacturing sector. The sector’s export value in the first half was USD 102.2 billion which is up by 9.1% compared to 2018. Products with strong contribution to this value are: telephones and components, computers, electronic products and components, textile, steel, machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts.
Total export value for the year is targeted at USD 263 billion. To achieve this goal monthly export value for the second half of the year should be USD 23.4 billion. This is expected to be challenging as the global economy is slowing down.
However, Vietnam continues to benefit from the US-China trade war. The trade war which shows no sign of cooling, presents a great opportunity for Vietnam to boost exports of textiles, wood and wood products. Those products are expected to accelerate export value in the second half of the year because high demand for those goods during the year-end holidays. Vietnam’s 12 free trade agreements (FTAs), including the recent Vietnam-European Union Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), will also support exports.
Source: Vietnamnews
