Vietnam's trade surplus remained positive at US$125bil this year with a surplus of US$33bil with the EU and US$92bil with the US.
HANOI: Vietnam’s exports to the European Union (EU) and the United States in 2023 were estimated to reach around US$166bil, a 9.6% decrease while imports were estimated at nearly US$41bil, a 9.1% decrease in comparison to 2022.
The South-East Asian economy’s trade surplus, however, remained positive at US$125bil this year with a surplus of US$33bil with the EU and US$92bil with the US.
“With a large open economy, Vietnam’s import-export activities are directly affected by the global economic downturn in the first half of 2023 and the slow and uneven recovery of world economies in the second half of 2023,” said Ta Hoang Linh, head of the European and American Market Department under the Industry and Trade Ministry.
In the first 10 months of 2023, the EU reduced its imports from non-EU markets by nearly 16% and the United States reduced its imports from world markets by 6%.
Despite inflation being somewhat contained, it remained high, coupled with pressures from geopolitical instability, and profound changes in behaviour and consumption habits in the EU and the United States, making it challenging to sustain a high level of imports, according to a recent report by the International Monetray Fund.
Vietnam’s export turnover to the EU and United States saw a sharp drop, with exports to the EU reaching US$43.7bil, a 6.7% contraction year-on-year (y-o-y), while exports to the United States reached US$96.9bil, a 12.4% decrease y-o-y.
Only exports to Britain, countries in the Eurasian Economic Union, the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), and some smaller markets witnessed growth of 3.1%, 12.7% and 10%, respectively.
Major export items, including machinery, equipment, spare parts; phones, and components; computers, electronic products, and components; textiles; leather shoes and bags; wood and wood products; and seafood, have all seen an average drop of over 10% compared to 2022.
Meanwhile, some other categories reported good growth. Among them, cameras, camcorders, and components increased by 27% while various types of iron and steel increased by 23.5%. Particularly, some agricultural products such as rice increased by 53.3%; cashews increased by 10.2%; fruits and vegetables increased by 10.2%.
While trade has been slowing down, thanks to effective free-trade agreements with European and American market partners, the positive impact is set to continue, maintaining Vietnam’s advantages in trade and investment activities in 2024.
Regarding trade promotion, Tran Thu Quynh, a Vietnamese commercial counsellor in Canada, said that among the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership member countries, Vietnam had very good leverage to accelerate the export of goods to Canada, with estimated exports to the country in 2023 forecast to hit US$5.7bil.
Linh said that the European and American Market Department would closely monitor the market, and promptly grasp information about the economic, political, and policy situation in the region and globally that affects trade with Vietnam.
This would enable early warnings to the business community and provide policy recommendations to the government for appropriate responses. — Viet Nam News/ANN
