AsemconnectVietnam - Vietnam recorded a trade surplus of 24.6 billion USD during the first ten months of 2023, according to the General Department of Customs (GDC).

The country exported goods worth 291.28 billion USD, down 7.1% from last year, while imports were estimated at 266.67 billion USD, a year-on-year drop of 12.3%.
In October, Vietnam’s export revenue rose 5.3% from a month earlier to 32.31 billion, while the import turnover edged up 2.9% to 29.31 billion USD, producing a trade surplus of 3 billion USD.
According to the GDC, budget revenue from export-import activities in October reached 32.469 trillion VND (1.323 billion USD), up 17.2% against the previous month.
The figure for the January-October period was 302.394 trillion VND (12.325 billion USD), down 17% over the corresponding period last year.
3 groups of "tens of billions USD" items imported 
The 3 groups of imported goods with the largest turnover were computers, electronic products and components; machinery, equipment, tools, spare parts; fabrics of all kinds.
By the end of October, the country's total import turnover reached 266.87 billion USD, down by 12.2% (equivalent to a decrease of 37.07 billion USD) compared to the same period of 2022.
Notably, by the end of October, there were 3 groups of imported goods with a turnover of 10 billion USD or more.
Leading was still computers, electronic products and components reaching nearly 71.3 billion USD, up by 1.2% over the same period last year.
Ranked second was machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts reaching 33.92 billion USD, down by 10.3% over the same period of 2022.
The third group of goods with a turnover of "tens of billions of dollars" was fabrics of all kinds with a turnover of 10.71 billion USD, down by 14.4% over the same period last year.
With 115.93 billion USD, the three main product groups alone accounted for more than 43.4% of the country's total import turnover in the past 10 months.
The main import markets of the above product groups come from Asia such as China, South Korea, and Japan.
In addition, by the end of October, there were dozens of imported commodity groups with a turnover of 1 billion USD or more, such as plastic raw materials; products from plastic; raw materials for textiles, garments, leather, shoes, etc.
8 product groups with an export turnover of 1 billion USD or more
In October, there were 8 product groups with a turnover of 1 billion USD or more. Of these, 5 groups had positive growth compared to the previous month. The most impressive was footwear with a turnover of 1.74 billion USD, an increase of 30.3%.
The next were: cameras, camcorders and components reaching more than 1 billion USD, an increase of 17.3%; wood and wood products reached 1.28 billion USD, an increase of 12.9%; machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts reached 4.47 billion USD, an increase of 9.9%; phones and components reached 5.2 billion USD, an increase of 3.3%.
Other key product groups were: computers, electronic products and components reaching 5.1 billion USD, down by 6.8%; textiles and garments reached 2.57 billion USD, down slightly by 0.1%; transport vehicles and spare parts reached 1.17 billion USD, down by 3.5%.
Seafood exports earned nearly 7.5 billion USD
By the end of October of 2023, Vietnam’s seafood exports earned nearly 7.5 billion USD, down by 20% over the same period last year.
Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers said that seafood exports in October of 2023 were estimated to reach over 863 million USD, a slight decrease of 5% compared to the same period of 2022. By the end of October this year, the country’s exports of seafood earned nearly 7.5 billion USD, down by 20% over the same period last year.
By the end of October of 2023, shrimp accounted for 38% of seafood export turnover with a value of over 2.8 billion USD, down by 24% over the same period last year. In October alone, shrimp exports reached about 320 million USD, down by 11% compared to October of 2022.
Shrimp export developments in the last months of the year and 2024 depend largely on fluctuations in the US market. Shrimp import volumes have begun to recover. However, US shrimp import prices are still much lower than the same period last year. Falling import prices not only affect Vietnam's exports, but the Indian shrimp industry is also struggling.
The seafood industry has had a worldwide shrimp surplus for more than a year. In the US, EU and China, average import prices in 2023 fell by 13.4%, 10% and 2.7%, respectively. It is forecast that the consumption and import situation in the United States will be more positive in November and December.
Pangasius exports in October reached 189 million USD, a slight increase of 5% over the same period of 2022. Accordingly, by the end of October, pangasius exports reached over 1.5 billion USD, down by 28% over the same period last year.
T.Huong
Source: Vitic