Exports by the domestic sector have been a silver lining of the cloud of Vietnam’s trade in the first eight months of 2020, with overseas shipments reeling in 60.8 billion USD during the period, up 15.3 percent. Despite the COVID-19 complicated developments plaguing many business-production areas, Vietnam recorded upbeat export figures. Meanwhile, domestic companies continued posting high growth, contributing to meeting the economic goals set for the year.

Domestic sector shines

According to a representative from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, August exports were valued at 26.5 billion USD, increasing 6.5 percent from July, the highest monthly rise since the beginning of the year. Earnings by such key exports as computers, electronic products and components; machines, tools and spareparts; and timber and woodwork products increased 15 percent, 43.6 percent and 21.7 percent, respectively. They made a significant contribution to the country’s overall export growth. In the first eight months of the year, Vietnam shipped products to foreign markets for 174.11 billion USD, an annual increase of 1.6 percent. Of the sum, domestic companies contributed 60.8 billion USD, up 15.3 percent year on year, and the foreign ones 113.31 billion USD, down 4.5 percent on-year. The result was attributable to keeping growth momentum in big markets like the US and China. Vietnam’s shipments to the US and China brought back 46.7 billion USD and 27 billion USD, 19 percent and 13 percent higher than that of the same period last year, respectively. By contrast, the export of agro-forestry-fishery and mineral materials recorded annual reductions of 4.6 percent and 34.5 percent with only 15.98 billion USD and over 2.01 billion USD between January and August. Le Tien Truong, general director of the Vietnam Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), one of the largest textile companies in the country, said the first half of 2020 was not the most difficult period, as there were no bottlenecks in trade and the number of infections remained low.

Trade surplus close to 12 billion USD

In August alone, trade surplus reached 3.5 billion USD. The figure for the first eight months was 11.9 billion USD. Also in the month, imports showed signs of a slowdown, with the country purchasing 23 billion USD worth of products overseas, a mere annual rise of 4.1 percent. Between January and August, Vietnam’s import value fell to just 162.21 billion USD, marking a decrease of 2.2 percent on year. During the period, domestic production faced various difficulties over falling demand in the global market, hence a drop in the country’s purchase of input material, explained Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Cao Quoc Hung. In the first eight months, the import of machinery, equipment, and spareparts; phones and components; fabrics, and steel went down by 4.3, 2.5, 13, and 13.2 percent, respectively. To achieve the 2020 trade goals during the remaining four months, Hung said his ministry is focusing on the implementation of several measures to removing bottlenecks in business and production and supporting enterprises. Accordingly, in the context of COVID-19, trade promotion activities are advised to employ online tools to sustain existing markets and partnerships. Assistance for firms to seek partners in trading farm produce, necessaries, and products for pandemic prevention and control are key to boosting commercial transactions with other nations. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is also paying attention to the promotion of goods on digital platforms and devices, while asking business capacity assessments to be done via Vietnamese representative offices overseas as in-person meetings are hardly organised./.