According to data from General Department of Customs, in the first 6 months of 2024, Vietnam - Laos trade increased by 11% over the same period last year, reaching 927 million USD, of which Vietnam had a trade deficit of 349 million USD.
Vietnam exported goods to Laos for 289 million USD, up 7.4% over the same period last year. Vietnam exported 19 main items to Laos. Petroleum was the item with highest turnover with 42 million USD, up 40% over the same period last year; Following behind were iron and steel products with 23.1 million USD, up 9.4% over the same period last year; machinery, equipment, tools and other spare parts ranked third with a value of 21.9 million USD, up 3.3% over the same period last year.
In addition to the above two items, to the Lao market, Vietnam also exported means of transport and spare parts with 19.8 million USD, up 13.7% over the same period last year; iron and steel with 15.9 million USD, down 31.4% over the same period last year; animal feed and raw materials with 12.2 million USD, up 17.3% over the same period last year; fertilizer with 11.8 million USD, up 14.5% over the same period last year.
In agricultural sector, Vietnam also exported vegetables and fruits to Laos with a turnover of 7.9 million USD. Specifically, in the first half of 2024, Vietnam exported 76 tonnes of coffee to Laos, reaching a turnover of 403,883 USD, up 49% in volume and 42% in value over the same period. Export price of coffee to Laos decreased by 4.8%, from 5,585 USD/tonne in the same period last year to 5,314 USD/tonne in the first half of 2024.
In group of raw materials, Vietnam also exported chemical products to Laos with 3.8 million USD, up 72% over the same period last year; plastic products with 9.8 million USD, up 27% over the same period last year; paper and paper products with 5.6 million USD, down 21% over the same period last year; wood and wood products with 4.5 million USD, up 350% over the same period last year.
Vietnam spent 638 million USD to import goods from Laos in the first 6 months of 2024, up 12.8% over the same period last year.
Vietnam imported 8 main products from Laos. Of which, Vietnam imported 74,339 tonnes of rubber with a value of 95.7 million USD, up 22% over the same period last year in terms of turnover; imported 1.16 million tonnes of coal with 75.5 million USD, down 25% compared to the same period last year in value.
In addition, Vietnam also spent 53 million USD to import wood and wood products, down 3.4% compared to the same period last year; fertilizer with 45 million USD, up 6% compared to the same period last year; ore and other minerals 42 million USD, up 34% compared to the same period last year.
In the agricultural products group, Vietnam spent 18.6 million USD to import 74,589 tonnes of corn, down 11.8% compared to the same period last year in value; spent 1.8 million USD to import vegetables and fruits.

Source: Vitic/ congthuong.vn