For the first nine months of 2018, Vietnam’s exports increased 17.5 per cent year-on-year, higher than the 15 per cent jump posted in the first quarter.
The domestic sector’s positive export performance contributed to a yearly rise of 15.4 per cent in the country’s nine-month export turnover, nearly double the growth target set for the whole year.

In the period, the US remained Vietnam’s biggest export market, with spending up 13 per cent year-on-year, followed by the EU (up ten per cent) and China (up 27 per cent).

Export of 26 commodities made up 90.3 per cent of the country’s total export revenue.

The country’s import value of commodities in the period saw a modest surge of 12 per cent. Of the sum, the foreign-invested sector’s contribution was up 12 per cent while the domestic sector’s contribution was up 11.7 per cent.

Key import items included electronics, computers and components, equipment and machinery, telephones and components, fabric, iron, steel, plastics, oil and gas, metal, footwear, chemicals, and garment and textile materials.

China was Vietnam’s largest exporter during the period with the turnover up 12.5 per cent year-on-year. South Korea’s turnover was up 1.4 per cent year-on-year while Asean countries’ turnover was up 13 per cent.