Vietnam’s export down slightly in 6 months due to the impact of the pandemic

Success against coronavirus came with worst GDP numbers in decades

Vietnam’s export and import turnovers in the first half of 2020 decreased by 1.1 percent and 3 percent year-on-year respectively, the country’s General Statistics Office said Monday.

Export revenue totaled over 121.2 billion U.S. dollars and import turnovers reached some 117.2 billion U.S. dollars during the six-month period.

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According to the General Statistics Office, Between January and June, the United States remained Vietnam’s biggest importer with turnovers of 30.3 billion U.S. dollars, followed by China with 19.5 billion U.S. dollars and the European Union with 16.1 billion U.S. dollars, according to the office.

Meanwhile, China was Vietnam’s largest exporter with turnovers of 34.8 billion U.S. dollars, followed by South Korea with 20.3 billion U.S. dollars, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with 14.2 billion U.S. dollars, the office said.

In 2019, Vietnam’s total trade turnover reached nearly 517 billion U.S. dollars with an export turnover of approximately 263.5 billion U.S. dollars, up 8.1 percent against 2018. The country posted a trade surplus of more than 9.9 billion U.S. dollars, the highest level in the past four years.

The International Monetary Fund forecast last month Vietnam’s economic growth will slow to 2.7% in 2020, but Prime Minster Nguyen Xuan Phuc said his government will try to keep growth above 5%.