AsemconnectVietnam - In the first quarter of 2023, the total export turnover of goods of Vietnam was estimated at 154.27 billion USD; and the trade surplus reached 4.07 billion USD.

Imports and exports of goods decreased
In the first quarter of 2023, the slow recovery of the world economy with tight monetary policies in many countries reduced the consumption demand of major trading partners, and affected the imports and exports of goods of Vietnam.
According to the figure of the General Statistics Office, the total import and export turnover of goods in March was estimated at 58.49 billion USD, up by 18.6% over the previous month and down by 13% over the same period last year. Generally, in the first quarter of 2023, the total import and export turnover of goods was estimated at 154.27 billion USD, down by 13.3% over the same period last year, of which the exports decreased by 11.9%; and the imports decreased by 14.7%.
However, under the close direction of the Government, ministries, sectors and localities, along with the efforts of export businesses, in the first quarter of 2023, the country’s trade surplus still reached 4.07 billion.
Specifically, the country’s export value of goods in March of 2023 was estimated at 29.57 billion USD, up by 13.5% compared to the previous month. In which, the export turnover of the domestic economic sector reached 7.33 billion USD, up by 12.9%; the export turnover of the FDI sector (including crude oil) reached 22.24 billion USD, up by 13.7%.
In comparison with the same period last year, the export turnover of goods in March decreased by 14.8%, of which export turnover of the domestic economic sector decreased by 16%, while the exports of the foreign investment sector (including crude oil) decreased by 14.4%.
In the first quarter of 2023, the country’s export turnover of goods was estimated at 79.17 billion USD, down by 11.9% over the same period last year. In which, the export turnover of the domestic economic sector reached 19.26 billion USD, down by 17.4%, accounting for 24.3% of total export turnover; while the export turnover of the FDI sector (including crude oil) reached 59.91 billion USD, down by 10%, accounting for 75.7%.
In the first quarter of 2023, there were 14 items with export turnover of over 1 billion USD, accounting for 77.4% of total export turnover (there were 04 export items with the export turnover of over 5 billion USD, accounting for 52.8%).
Regarding the structure of export products in the first quarter of 2023, the group of fuel and mineral products was estimated at 1.07 billion USD, accounting for 1.3%; the group of processed industrial products was estimated at 70.24 billion USD, accounting for 88.7%; group of agricultural and forestry products estimated at USD 6.07 billion, accounting for 7.7%; the group of seafood products was estimated at 1.79 billion USD, accounting for 2.3%.
Import items are mainly for production
In contrast, the country’s import turnover of goods in March of 2023 was estimated at 28.92 billion USD, up by 24.4% over the previous month. In which, the import value of the domestic economic sector reached 10.72 billion USD, up by 35.3%; the import value of the FDI sector reached 18.2 billion USD, up by 18.7%. In comparison to the same period last year, the import value of goods in March decreased by 11.1%, of which the import value of the domestic economic sector decreased by 7.8%; while the import value of the FDI sector decreased by 13%.
Generally, in the first quarter of 2023, the import turnover of goods reached 75.1 billion USD, down by 14.7% over the same period last year, of which the domestic economic sector reached 26.03 billion USD, down by 13.5%. 3%; and the import value of the FDI sector reached 49.07 billion USD, down by 15.4%.
In the first quarter of 2023, there were 17 imported items with a value of over 1 billion USD, accounting for 75.1% of the total import turnover (there were 2 imported items with over 5 billion USD, accounting for 37.6%).
Imported goods still mainly serve the needs of domestic production when the import value of the group of production materials was estimated at 70.22 billion USD, accounting for 93.5%, of which the group of machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts accounted for 43.8%; the group of raw materials, fuel and materials accounted for 49.7%. The group of consumer materials in the first quarter only reached 4.88 billion USD, accounting for 6.5% of total import turnover.
Regarding the import and export market of goods in the first quarter of 2023, the United States was the largest export market in Vietnam with an estimated turnover of 20.6 billion USD. The next was China with an estimated value of 23.6 billion USD.
Notably, in the first quarter of 2023, the country’s trade surplus to the US was estimated at 17.5 billion USD, down by 23.4% over the same period last year. The free trade agreement (FTA) still brought positive effects when the trade surplus to the EU reached 6.9 billion USD. This figure showed that the EU was still a large and potential market for Vietnamese goods.
With such import-export turnover, the trade balance of goods in March was estimated to have a trade surplus of 0.65 billion USD. In the first quarter of 2023, the trade balance of goods was estimated to have a trade surplus of 4.07 billion USD (the same period last year, the trade surplus was 1.9 billion USD).
The Ministry of Industry and Trade actively eliminates export and import difficulties
In the face of unpredictable developments in import and export activities, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is continuing to monitor the developments of the world market, consult and propose cooperation frameworks and solutions to simultaneously develop the traditional markets and diversification of export markets. In addition, the ministry is also supporting businesses to take advantage of signed FTAs to effectively exploit markets, promote exports, etc.
Most recently, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has developed and submitted to the Government for promulgation of Decision No. 165/QD-TTg dated February 28, 2023 approving the Project on restructuring the Industry and Trade sector until 2030. Accordingly, the Decision sets the goal of maintaining a surplus trade balance with the growth rate of exports always higher than imports and an average increase of about 6-8%/year.
To accomplish that goal, the Ministry of Industry and Trade determined to continue diversifying export markets and products, focusing on developing exports through border e-commerce, foreign distribution systems and strongly promoting develop trademarks of Vietnamese goods, increase the proportion of exports of goods with high-tech, deep-processed regimes and large localization rates; developing new export products, creating breakthroughs such as Halal products to the Muslim market, Kosher products to the Jewish market, etc.
In addition, the ministry will also continue developing e-commerce into an important distribution channel, actively supporting the consumption of goods, especially agricultural products and consumer industrial goods; as well as developing new consumer centers and digitize trade promotion activities.
In particular, the ministry will focus on upgrading and developing supply chains and value chains of industries based on comparative advantages at the national, regional and local levels to enhance added value and enhance self-reliance of the Industry and Trade sector. Specifically, in import and export activities, the ministry will continue to upgrade and develop a complete import-export ecological system; support enterprises to participate effectively in the global value chain; develop synchronously and effectively the logistics infrastructure system for import and export in order to optimize production and trade connections, making Vietnam a production and logistics center of the region.
The ministry will also continue to improve the ability of export markets to meet regulations and high quality standards, especially requirements on environmental protection, low carbon, labor and union as well as strengthen export capacity for localities and develop new export regions and areas in association with the process of restructuring industries in the direction of concentration and specialization.
CK
Source: VITIC/congthuong.vn