7 items surpass the 10 billion USD mark
According to preliminary data from Customs Department, in the first half of September 2025, the country's import-export turnover reached over 39 billion USD, bringing total import-export value since beginning of the year to over 637 billion USD. Of which, goods exports reached 325.26 billion USD, imports 311.95 billion USD, helping economy achieve a trade surplus of 13.31 billion USD. This is an important milestone, continuing to affirm trend of maintaining a trade surplus for 10 consecutive years.
Traditional markets such as the US, China, EU, Korea, ASEAN... have all recorded positive growth in the past 8 months. Exports to the US increased by 26.4%, to China by 9.2%, showing stability in trade relations and good adaptability of Vietnamese enterprises.
Currently, there are 29 export items with a turnover of over 1 billion USD, of which 7 items exceeded 10 billion USD mark. Key groups including electronics, computers and components; telephones; machinery, equipment, tools, spare parts; textiles and footwear continue to play a leading role, contributing greatly to total export turnover.
Import and export - one of pillars of economic growth - has made steady progress, with an export growth rate of over 15% as of mid-September. Important driving force comes from businesses stepping up exploitation of the US market and other major partners.
Particularly for wood industry, according to Mr. Phung Quoc Man - Chairman of Handicraft and Wood Processing Association of Ho Chi Minh City. According to Ho Chi Minh City Wood Industry Association (HAWA), in the first 8 months of 2025, export turnover reached 11.1 billion USD, up 6.5% over the same period in 2024. The US, South Korea, Japan, China and the EU are still key markets. This is considered an encouraging result in context of many fluctuations in global trade. Mr. Man said that, for sustainable development, wood industry needs to proactively diversify markets, increase added value through switching to the ODM model (manufacturing based on original design) and at the same time take advantage of cross-border e-commerce with large platforms such as Amazon and Alibaba to reach international customers. In addition, it is necessary to innovate strategy of accessing traditional markets. Currently, South Korea, Japan and China are three major partners but export value mainly comes from pellets, wood chips, and plywood - low-value products. To make a breakthrough, Vietnamese wood industry needs to strongly shift to exporting wooden furniture, creating brands and increasing profits.
In textile and garment sector, Mr. Tran Nhu Tung - Vice President of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), Chairman of Board of Directors of Thanh Cong Textile and Garment - Investment - Trading Joint Stock Company - said that in the first 8 months of 2025, textile and garment exports reached 30.7 billion USD. If from now until the end of the year, minimum export speed of 4 billion USD/month is maintained, the industry can completely reach the target of 48 billion USD.
However, according to Mr. Tung, the biggest challenge of industry today is not in output, but in requirements of green transformation and digital transformation. Currently, only about 20-25% of businesses have the potential to invest in green technology, most of which are still facing difficulties. If they cannot meet this standard in time, businesses will have difficulty accessing high-end markets, especially Europe. At the same time, digital transformation has become an urgent requirement to trace the origin of raw materials, especially when the US market requires transparency of origin. Transit goods may be subject to a tax of up to 40%, causing Vietnamese businesses to lose their advantage if they do not apply technology. Another issue is exploitation of free trade agreements. Vietnam has signed 16-17 FTAs but textile and garment industry has not yet exploited them effectively. EVFTA requires origin from fabric, CPTPP requires origin from yarn, while most raw materials are still imported from China. This makes it difficult for businesses to enjoy tax incentives, reducing the competitiveness of the industry.
Although export of some products showed signs of slowing down from late August to early September, with a growth rate of 15% in the first 9 months of the year - far exceeding the target of 12%, experts predict that if there is no major shock from the market, export growth target for the whole year is completely feasible, thereby contributing positively to the overall growth of economy.
Three pillars of sustainable export development
At the 3rd Vietnam Economic Forum in 2025 with the theme "What is driving force for GDP growth in 2025 to reach 8.3-8.5%" organized by Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper on September 26, Ms. Nguyen Cam Trang - Deputy Director of Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) - emphasized the need to synchronously deploy solutions based on three pillars including supply, demand and export organization.
Regarding supply pillar, it is necessary to ensure stable production, ensure that the "goods" are of sufficient quantity and quality to meet requirements of export market. Goods must meet standards and be of high quality to effectively penetrate international markets.
Regarding demand pillar, market development work needs to be promoted, expanding consumption opportunities, diversifying partners and export markets.
Regarding export organization, it is necessary to improve related activities such as trade promotion, brand building and promotion, and continue to reform institutions, creating favorable conditions for businesses in the export process. These synchronous solutions will help improve competitiveness of businesses, ensuring sustainable export growth in coming time.
Analyzing further, Ms. Nguyen Cam Trang said that economic diplomacy is the "key" to market development. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Industry and Trade have closely coordinated to exploit export potential, promote business connections, remove difficulties and facilitate trade. Another important direction is to effectively exploit new FTAs, aiming to diversify markets, especially expanding to the Middle East, the Gulf, and South America (Mercosur).
Ms. Nguyen Cam Trang also noted that although we have signed many FTAs, the problem here is to meet rules of origin of goods. If goods do not meet requirements, businesses will not enjoy tariff incentives. For example, CPTPP requires textiles to originate from yarn; EVFTA requires from fabric.
Meanwhile, most raw materials still depend on imports, making it difficult for businesses to take advantage of incentives. Vietnam is negotiating ASEAN-Canada FTA, hoping to have more flexible rules of origin, helping businesses take advantage of the accumulation mechanism to be more proactive in raw material sources;....
Another highlight mentioned by Ms. Trang is institutional reform. This is a key factor for businesses to develop sustainably, effectively taking advantage of opportunities from FTAs and international market. Resolutions No.66-NQ/TW dated April 30, 2025 and Resolution No.68-NQ/TW dated May 4, 2025 are being implemented in a practical manner, notably mechanism for receiving feedback on legal problems on a common portal. Management agencies will no longer be allowed to avoid using excuse of "the law" but must comprehensively review overlapping and inappropriate regulations and even propose amendments at decree or law level if necessary. Ministry of Industry and Trade and many ministries and branches are actively drafting amendments to related documents, aiming to create a more favorable legal corridor for businesses. According to Ms. Nguyen Cam Trang, in trend of rebalancing the global supply chain, Vietnam is emerging as a reliable destination. However, to take advantage of opportunity, Vietnam must solve three major "bottlenecks" including logistics costs, infrastructure and high-quality human resources. Only when these issues are thoroughly resolved will the economy have a solid foundation to maintain export growth momentum and ensure sustainable growth in the coming years.

Source: Vitic/ congthuong.vn