AsemconnectVietnam - Imports and exports are considered to have "bottomed out" and have great growth potential from now until the end of the year.

Imports and exports are gradually recovering clearly
In the report reviewing economic developments in August of 2023 just published by the World Bank in Vietnam, economic indicators showed that export and import activities of goods continued to decrease by 7.3% and 8.1%, respectively in August compared to the same period last year. The drop in exports was due to a decline in exports of key manufactured products, including smart phones (-14.6%), machinery (-17.9%), textiles (-17.8%) and shoes sandals (-19.3%). The decrease in exports directly affects the import of input materials, leading to a decrease in imports of textiles and garments, electrical equipment, and machinery.
"However, monthly import and export activities have improved continuously since May, suggesting that the decline in export activities may have bottomed out" - the report stated.
Import and export activities of goods have continuously shown signs of improvement recently. According to the General Department of Customs, Vietnam's total export turnover in the second half of August (August 16-31) reached 18.23 billion USD, an increase of 26.2% (equivalent to an increase of 3.79 billion USD) compared to with first half of August of 2023.
The export turnover in the second half of August increased compared to the first period of August of 2023 in some key product groups, such as machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts increased by 545 million USD (corresponding to an increase of 35.6%); computers, electronic products and components increased by 525 million USD (equivalent to an increase of 22.1%); textiles and garments increased by 347 million USD (equivalent to an increase of 22.4%); phones of all types and components increased by 309 million USD, (corresponding to an increase of 12.8%); iron and steel of all kinds increased by 239 million USD (corresponding to an increase of 102%; aquatic products increased by 125 million USD (corresponding to an increase of 33.9%); fruits and vegetables increased by 109 million USD (corresponding to an increase of 61%).
Thus, by the end of August, Vietnam's total export turnover reached 228.17 billion USD, still down by 9.8%, equivalent to a decrease of 24.79 billion USD compared to the same period of 2022. However, the rate of decrease is was lower than in previous months. Many products are still maintaining high export speed and value. For example, statistics showed that in August of 2023, Vietnam's average coffee export price recorded a record high of 3,054 USD/tonne, an increase of 8.0% compared to July of 2023 and an increase of 29.7% compared to August of 2022. In the first 8 months of 2023, our country's average coffee export price reached 2,463 USD/tonne, up by 8.9% over the same period last year.
Totally in the first 8 months of the year, Vietnam’s coffee exports reached 1.2 million tonnes, worth of nearly 3 billion USD, down by 5.4% in volume but up by 3.1% in value compared to the same period last year thanks to selling price increased.
Regarding textile and garment products, Mr. Truong Van Cam - Vice President of Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) said that after many gloomy months, the order situation from now until the end of the year of the textile and garment industry will improve and it is expected that textile and garment export turnover will reach 40 billion USD in 2023.
Vietnam Textile and Garment Group also commented that Vietnam's textile and garment industry has passed its "worst bottom". Vietnam Textile and Garment Group said that more than half of the group's customers rated the market situation as improving, a general signal that the garment industry's efficiency in the last 6 months of this year will be equivalent to the first 6 months of the year.
Similarly, SSI Research estimates that the orders for Vietnam's textile and garment industry are expected to gradually improve from the fourth quarter of 2023.
Strong support for imports and exports
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said that imports and exports continued to increase again. In August of this year, the country’s exports increased by 7.7% compared to July, while the imports increased by 5.7%; the trade surplus reached nearly 3.82 billion USD. Overall for the first 8 months of this year, the country’s exports of goods reached 227.7 billion USD, and the imports reached 207.5 billion USD.
Furthermore, according to the Deputy Minister, August was the 4th consecutive month of export growth, each month was higher than the previous month despite a relatively gloomy first quarter of 2023. Thanks to that, the trade surplus in the first 8 months of 2023 reached nearly 20.2 billion USD, helping to balance the trade balance and healthy foreign currency supply.
To support the continued recovery of exports, from now until the end of the year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will continue to offer many solutions to support, remove difficulties and obstacles, and reduce costs for businesses with the motivation to maintain production, business, and capital to produce new orders.
Ministries, branches and localities will coordinate with Vietnamese representative agencies abroad to promote market development, remove barriers to entry, and provide early warnings about trade defense measure, pay attention to markets with large export volumes in a timely and clear manner.
In addition, the authorities will also support businesses to take advantage of commitments and opportunities from FTAs, especially new generation FTAs to boost exports, through propaganda and support for businesses to implement, meets rules of origin and certificate of origin.
CK
Source: VITIC/congthuong.vn