Vietnam’s Import-Export Turnover Tops US$49.3 Billion in February

Posted by Written by Dezan Shira and Associates Reading Time: 13 minutes

Vietnam’s import and export data for February has been released by Vietnam Customs. Here’s how Vietnam is tracking in terms of trade in 2023 so far.


Vietnam’s two-way trade in February was up almost US$3 billion over January despite February being a slightly shorter month.

All-in-all Vietnam clocked-up over US$46 billion in two-way trade for the month with foreign direct invested enterprises accounting for a little over two-thirds.

So, in February, what did Vietnam export and to where, and what did it import and from where?

Vietnam’s total imports and exports

Description February (US$) January (US$) Year to date Change (US$) Change (%)
Imports

23,253,166,988

22,954,892,887

46,208,059,875

298,274,101

1.30

Exports

26,051,802,663

23,610,989,174

49,662,791,837

2,440,813,489

10.34

Total

49,304,969,651

46,565,882,061

95,870,851,712

2,739,087,590

5.88

Imports and exports of foreign direct invested enterprises

Description February (US$) January (US$) Year to date Change (US$) Change (%)
Imports

15,327,554,489

15,529,779,203

30,857,333,692

-202,224,714

-1.30

Exports

19,394,131,790

17,970,237,911

37,364,369,701

1,423,893,879

7.92

Total

34,721,686,279

33,500,017,114

68,221,703,393

1,221,669,165

3.65

What were Vietnam’s main imports?

In February, Vietnam’s top three imports were: computers, electronic products, spare parts and components; machinery, equipment, tools, and instruments; and other products. These three imports set Vietnam back a collective US$10.2 billion. This was slightly down on January’s figure of US$10.5 billion for the same three export categories.

Vietnam imports February 2023, by value

Description February January Change (US$) Change (%) Year To Date
Computers, electrical products, spare-parts and components thereof

5,947,192,606

6,562,619,439

-615,426,833

-9.38

12,509,812,045

Machine, equipment, tools and instruments

2,876,842,398

2,739,303,788

137,538,610

5.02

5,616,146,186

Other products

1,413,256,619

1,224,010,304

189,246,315

15.46

2,637,266,923

Plastics

783,468,075

588,061,603

195,406,472

33.23

1,371,529,678

Fabrics

776,111,773

936,043,314

-159,931,541

-17.09

1,712,155,087

Petroleum products

732,398,962

911,434,527

-179,035,565

-19.64

1,643,833,489

Iron and steel

673,073,091

525,840,231

147,232,860

28.00

1,198,913,322

Other base metals

603,115,542

556,275,522

46,840,020

8.42

1,159,391,064

Chemicals

581,013,024

478,290,706

102,722,318

21.48

1,059,303,730

Chemical products

568,227,444

501,261,524

66,965,920

13.36

1,069,488,968

Crude oil

560,489,080

677,319,598

-116,830,518

-17.25

1,237,808,678

Coal

536,186,364

272,157,145

264,029,219

97.01

808,343,509

Telephones, mobile phones and parts thereof

525,382,889

793,855,750

-268,472,861

-33.82

1,319,238,639

Plastic products

506,481,719

515,879,959

-9,398,240

-1.82

1,022,361,678

Textile, leather and foot-wear materials and auxiliaries

421,398,448

377,390,876

44,007,572

11.66

798,789,324

Animal fodders and animal fodder materials

367,934,702

377,266,496

-9,331,794

-2.47

745,201,198

Iron and steel products

337,373,045

384,320,364

-46,947,319

-12.22

721,693,409

Parts and accessories of motor vehicles

326,067,034

305,121,636

20,945,398

6.86

631,188,670

Pharmaceutical products

270,479,162

242,180,046

28,299,116

11.69

512,659,208

Motor vehicles

259,831,283

314,502,938

-54,671,655

-17.38

574,334,221

Cashew nut

233,982,095

129,758,684

104,223,411

80.32

363,740,779

Fishery products

231,197,228

188,521,794

42,675,434

22.64

419,719,022

Maize (corn)

215,568,362

269,354,273

-53,785,911

-19.97

484,922,635

Ferrous waste and scrap

185,557,307

82,275,589

103,281,718

125.53

267,832,896

Cotton

182,549,512

175,146,393

7,403,119

4.23

357,695,905

Electric consumer products and parts thereof

169,698,600

96,209,410

73,489,190

76.38

265,908,010

Insulated wires and cables

169,696,570

161,380,234

8,316,336

5.15

331,076,804

Soya beans

167,166,777

46,154,956

121,011,821

262.19

213,321,733

Rubber

160,224,407

167,303,210

-7,078,803

-4.23

327,527,617

Yarn

159,178,273

135,990,655

23,187,618

17.05

295,168,928

Paper

158,216,256

118,248,459

39,967,797

33.80

276,464,715

Wood and wooden products

150,419,583

120,488,786

29,930,797

24.84

270,908,369

Still image, video cameras and parts thereof

150,343,785

201,741,200

-51,397,415

-25.48

352,084,985

Other base metal products

148,429,808

155,603,717

-7,173,909

-4.61

304,033,525

Wheats

142,797,043

86,552,811

56,244,232

64.98

229,349,854

Ores and other minerals product

131,529,395

188,759,585

-57,230,190

-30.32

320,288,980

Fruits and vegetables

124,150,473

149,105,266

-24,954,793

-16.74

273,255,739

Glass and glassware

115,804,839

117,179,005

-1,374,166

-1.17

232,983,844

Precious stones, precious metal and articles thereof

114,824,210

46,818,173

68,006,037

145.26

161,642,383

Liquefied petroleum gases (LPG)

106,043,316

177,598,806

-71,555,490

-40.29

283,642,122

Milk and milk products

105,586,654

88,961,629

16,625,025

18.69

194,548,283

Essential oils and resinoids; perfumery, cosmetic or toilet preparations

99,168,410

66,874,869

32,293,541

48.29

166,043,279

Other edible food preparations

98,752,679

82,566,577

16,186,102

19.60

181,319,256

Other petroleum products

92,771,925

109,254,447

-16,482,522

-15.09

202,026,372

Animal, vegetable fats and oils

91,626,024

68,104,854

23,521,170

34.54

159,730,878

Other means of transportation, parts and accessories thereof

87,234,748

115,114,551

-27,879,803

-24.22

202,349,299

Fertilizers

67,518,055

57,057,382

10,460,673

18.33

124,575,437

Insecticides, rodenticides and materials

65,663,494

42,865,169

22,798,325

53.19

108,528,663

Rubber products

63,209,081

63,245,311

-36,230

-0.06

126,454,392

Paper products

62,395,607

51,555,560

10,840,047

21.03

113,951,167

Motorcycles and parts, accessories thereof

57,365,591

52,373,909

4,991,682

9.53

109,739,500

Pastrycooks, sweets and cereal products

39,913,359

27,434,220

12,479,139

45.49

67,347,579

Pharmaceutical materials

34,408,685

30,160,494

4,248,191

14.09

64,569,179

Tobacco materials

3,851,577

1,997,143

1,854,434

92.85

5,848,720

TOTAL VALUE

23,253,166,988

22,954,892,887

298,274,101

1.30

46,208,059,875

Imports of FDI Companies

15,327,554,489

15,529,779,203

-202,224,714

-1.30

30,857,333,692

Source: Vietnam Customs Import Data

What were Vietnam’s main exports?

Similar to January, in February Vietnam’s top three exports were: telephones, mobile phones and parts thereof; computers, electrical products, spare-parts and components thereof; and machine, equipment, tools and instruments. These accounted for US$11.5 billion worth of exports for Vietnam.

Vietnam’s exports February 2023, by value

Description February (US$) January (US$) Change (US$) Change (%) Year to date
Telephones, mobile phones and parts thereof 4,196,030,646 5,020,698,232 -824,667,586 -16.43 9,216,728,878
Computers, electrical products, spare-parts and components thereof 3,937,607,059 3,172,033,164 765,573,895 24.14 7,109,640,223
Machine, equipment, tools and instruments 3,387,424,730 2,900,597,029 486,827,701 16.78 6,288,021,759
Textiles and garments 2,294,142,128 2,250,526,485 43,615,643 1.94 4,544,668,613
Footwear 1,393,841,477 1,367,731,663 26,109,814 1.91 2,761,573,140
Other products 1,288,247,888 988,710,088 299,537,800 30.30 2,276,957,976
Other means of transportation, parts and accessories thereof 1,068,242,421 852,779,613 215,462,808 25.27 1,921,022,034
Wood and wooden products 880,203,423 806,029,437 74,173,986 9.20 1,686,232,860
Fishery products 610,076,304 457,211,746 152,864,558 33.43 1,067,288,050
Iron and steel 602,256,964 456,985,917 145,271,047 31.79 1,059,242,881
Coffee 434,909,631 310,439,892 124,469,739 40.09 745,349,523
Plastic products 368,385,447 312,856,372 55,529,075 17.75 681,241,819
Still image, video cameras and sparts thereof 359,915,328 474,016,558 -114,101,230 -24.07 833,931,886
Other base metals and other base metal products 347,048,982 275,641,785 71,407,197 25.91 622,690,767
Yarn 338,996,908 225,524,928 113,471,980 50.31 564,521,836
Fruits and vegetables 323,791,987 242,030,374 81,761,613 33.78 565,822,361
Iron and steel products 323,372,894 313,777,304 9,595,590 3.06 637,150,198
Toys and sports requisites; parts and accessories thereof 289,659,113 270,734,101 18,925,012 6.99 560,393,214
Rice 286,171,403 186,599,109 99,572,294 53.36 472,770,512
Insulated wires and cables 248,446,308 250,967,269 -2,520,961 -1.00 499,413,577
Handbags, purses, suit-cases, headgear and umbrellas 247,714,677 260,500,119 -12,785,442 -4.91 508,214,796
Chemical products 205,255,678 148,305,298 56,950,380 38.40 353,560,976
Cashew nut 197,702,724 155,806,407 41,896,317 26.89 353,509,131
Chemicals 190,072,027 175,135,562 14,936,465 8.53 365,207,589
Furnitures of other materials, other than of wood 189,483,199 148,717,648 40,765,551 27.41 338,200,847
Rubber 185,003,356 182,582,277 2,421,079 1.33 367,585,633
Plastics 184,886,857 140,077,691 44,809,166 31.99 324,964,548
Manioc and manioc products 176,120,259 92,701,559 83,418,700 89.99 268,821,818
Crude oil 171,820,943 149,872,217 21,948,726 14.64 321,693,160
Paper and paper products 166,309,077 128,878,598 37,430,479 29.04 295,187,675
Textile, leather and foot-wear materials and auxiliaries 164,047,901 121,150,424 42,897,477 35.41 285,198,325
Petroleum products 144,832,690 136,973,949 7,858,741 5.74 281,806,639
Clinker and cement 130,041,624 81,561,972 48,479,652 59.44 211,603,596
Rubber products 85,768,505 58,231,207 27,537,298 47.29 143,999,712
Pepper 84,188,099 43,206,012 40,982,087 94.85 127,394,111
Precious stones, precious metal and articles thereof 81,847,232 50,720,973 31,126,259 61.37 132,568,205
Animal fodders and animal fodder materials 79,348,502 50,055,397 29,293,105 58.52 129,403,899
Pastrycooks, sweets and cereals products 73,553,121 55,548,931 18,004,190 32.41 129,102,052
Glass and glassware 69,055,962 58,230,500 10,825,462 18.59 127,286,462
Fertilizers 65,041,050 63,910,737 1,130,313 1.77 128,951,787
Tyre cord fabrics and other fabrics for technical uses 57,178,625 57,759,389 -580,764 -1.01 114,938,014
Bamboo and rattan products 56,657,848 45,756,979 10,900,869 23.82 102,414,827
Ceramic products 46,190,912 41,220,062 4,970,850 12.06 87,410,974
Tea 11,257,054 11,368,196 -111,142 -0.98 22,625,250
Ores and other minerals product 9,382,408 16,494,627 -7,112,219 -43.12 25,877,035
Coal 271,292 331,377 -60,085 -18.13 602,669
Total 26,051,802,663 23,610,989,174 2,440,813,489 10.34 49,662,791,837
Exports of FDI Companies 19,394,131,790 17,970,237,911 1,423,893,879 7.92 37,364,369,701

Source: Vietnam Customs Export Data

Where did Vietnam’s imports come from?

Vietnam imported goods from all over the world in February. Its three biggest sources of imports were China, the Republic of Korea, and Japan covering US$12.4 billion worth of imports.

Vietnam’s imports by source country, value

  February (US$) January (US$) Change (US$) Change (%) Year to date
China 6,704,144,662 7,222,641,146 -518,496,484 -7.18 13,926,785,808
Republic of Korea 3,821,780,084 3,902,214,670 -80,434,586 -2.06 7,723,994,754
Japan 1,867,349,594 1,675,746,881 191,602,713 11.43 3,543,096,475
Taiwan 1,476,513,131 1,469,616,642 6,896,489 0.47 2,946,129,773
Thailand 1,019,028,207 766,089,522 252,938,685 33.02 1,785,117,729
United States of America 946,660,507 925,043,226 21,617,281 2.34 1,871,703,733
Australia 676,185,067 506,678,096 169,506,971 33.45 1,182,863,163
Indonesia 635,647,127 571,469,367 64,177,760 11.23 1,207,116,494
India 567,586,382 419,557,801 148,028,581 35.28 987,144,183
Malaysia 563,718,472 676,110,519 -112,392,047 -16.62 1,239,828,991
Kuwait 513,666,124 499,999,311 13,666,813 2.73 1,013,665,435
Cambodia 443,228,982 295,347,702 147,881,280 50.07 738,576,684
Singapore 413,789,720 398,814,780 14,974,940 3.75 812,604,500
Brazil 357,121,732 363,556,951 -6,435,219 -1.77 720,678,683
Germany 235,842,578 217,879,683 17,962,895 8.24 453,722,261
HongKong 205,690,981 201,969,222 3,721,759 1.84 407,660,203
Philippines 175,547,149 207,928,978 -32,381,829 -15.57 383,476,127
Argentina 164,666,577 241,457,745 -76,791,168 -31.80 406,124,322
Ireland 149,487,447 208,652,865 -59,165,418 -28.36 358,140,312
Italy 140,236,841 124,422,656 15,814,185 12.71 264,659,497
France 131,133,720 111,468,222 19,665,498 17.64 242,601,942
Saudi Arabia 115,284,325 149,257,159 -33,972,834 -22.76 264,541,484
Russian Federation 104,606,731 92,514,804 12,091,927 13.07 197,121,535
Israel 102,973,284 155,985,234 -53,011,950 -33.99 258,958,518
Laos 99,795,415 71,264,442 28,530,973 40.04 171,059,857
New Zealand 68,397,932 58,667,248 9,730,684 16.59 127,065,180
United Kingdom 66,281,347 44,096,181 22,185,166 50.31 110,377,528
United Arab Emirates 57,383,209 86,272,344 -28,889,135 -33.49 143,655,553
Belgium 56,407,342 34,274,347 22,132,995 64.58 90,681,689
Mexico 50,806,387 60,124,963 -9,318,576 -15.50 110,931,350
Hungary 50,775,625 56,331,361 -5,555,736 -9.86 107,106,986
Spain 50,000,525 45,994,760 4,005,765 8.71 95,995,285
Canada 47,946,482 36,061,184 11,885,298 32.96 84,007,666
Tanzania 47,168,923 70,943,841 -23,774,918 -33.51 118,112,764
Netherlands 45,878,004 47,609,489 -1,731,485 -3.64 93,487,493
Chile 39,220,795 42,296,139 -3,075,344 -7.27 81,516,934
Norway 34,215,275 27,117,642 7,097,633 26.17 61,332,917
Poland 27,724,308 31,145,671 -3,421,363 -10.99 58,869,979
Austria 25,419,208 26,860,073 -1,440,865 -5.36 52,279,281
Turkey 24,079,684 27,260,333 -3,180,649 -11.67 51,340,017
Sweden 23,209,359 21,287,010 1,922,349 9.03 44,496,369
Cameroon 19,599,126 14,043,949 5,555,177 39.56 33,643,075
Myanmar 18,652,693 24,182,795 -5,530,102 -22.87 42,835,488
Brunei Darussalam 16,735,681 10,646,204 6,089,477 57.20 27,381,885
Ivory Coast 14,628,394 28,001,013 -13,372,619 -47.76 42,629,407
Pakistan 12,919,495 16,016,403 -3,096,908 -19.34 28,935,898
Denmark 12,910,668 20,753,167 -7,842,499 -37.79 33,663,835
Congo 12,446,816 63,805,787 -51,358,971 -80.49 76,252,603
South Africa 12,196,670 5,953,924 6,242,746 104.85 18,150,594
Czech Republic 11,266,571 10,110,090 1,156,481 11.44 21,376,661
Bangladesh 9,736,106 6,720,229 3,015,877 44.88 16,456,335
Qatar 9,714,070 8,821,190 892,880 10.12 18,535,260
Peru 8,682,789 4,142,489 4,540,300 109.60 12,825,278
Slovenia 8,617,949 6,271,996 2,345,953 37.40 14,889,945
Finland 8,045,983 8,584,397 -538,414 -6.27 16,630,380
Nigeria 7,983,895 10,878,002 -2,894,107 -26.61 18,861,897
Slovakia 7,874,983 4,360,469 3,514,514 80.60 12,235,452
Portugal 6,886,508 4,246,764 2,639,744 62.16 11,133,272
Greece 6,492,746 12,788,532 -6,295,786 -49.23 19,281,278
Romania 6,287,239 5,635,705 651,534 11.56 11,922,944
Cyprus 4,240,714 4,540,699 -299,985 -6.61 8,781,413
Bulgaria 3,556,060 1,944,117 1,611,943 82.91 5,500,177
Lithuania 3,108,960 1,394,366 1,714,594 122.97 4,503,326
Luxembourg 3,009,502 2,979,927 29,575 0.99 5,989,429
Croatia 2,662,935 2,747,946 -85,011 -3.09 5,410,881
Ukraine 2,461,566 2,164,409 297,157 13.73 4,625,975
Estonia 2,146,864 1,108,889 1,037,975 93.60 3,255,753
Ghana 2,109,701 3,150,592 -1,040,891 -33.04 5,260,293
Latvia 1,798,064 2,442,757 -644,693 -26.39 4,240,821
Malta 1,523,895 3,070,243 -1,546,348 -50.37 4,594,138
Belarus 1,416,053 758,891 657,162 86.60 2,174,944
Tunisia 880,099 956,379 -76,280 -7.98 1,836,478
Kazakhstan 0 468,398 -468,398 -100.00 468,398
Total

22,587,192,039

22,485,720,928

101,471,111

0.45

45,072,912,967

Source: Vietnam Customs Imports By Country

Where did Vietnam’s exports go?

The bulk of Vietnam’s exports in February went to the United States. This is almost double its next biggest export market, China. It is also more than triple third place, the Republic of Korea.

Vietnam’s exports by recipient country, value

  February January Change (US$) Change (%) Year to date
United States of America

6,877,794,764

6,149,468,977

728,325,787

11.84

13,027,263,741

China

3,550,550,978

3,844,446,623

-293,895,645

-7.64

7,394,997,601

Republic of Korea

2,098,119,874

1,696,231,035

401,888,839

23.69

3,794,350,909

Japan

1,815,528,393

1,539,109,658

276,418,735

17.96

3,354,638,051

Netherlands

796,096,229

684,025,121

112,071,108

16.38

1,480,121,350

India

731,560,917

601,531,385

130,029,532

21.62

1,333,092,302

Thailand

654,249,368

531,611,749

122,637,619

23.07

1,185,861,117

Germany

622,482,428

569,286,268

53,196,160

9.34

1,191,768,696

HongKong

593,931,142

524,412,215

69,518,927

13.26

1,118,343,357

United Kingdom

442,863,993

496,337,157

-53,473,164

-10.77

939,201,150

Malaysia

441,701,703

267,289,684

174,412,019

65.25

708,991,387

Cambodia

430,404,352

367,128,295

63,276,057

17.24

797,532,647

Philippines

408,943,383

290,061,169

118,882,214

40.99

699,004,552

Canada

405,121,268

322,429,301

82,691,967

25.65

727,550,569

Indonesia

403,828,892

355,079,016

48,749,876

13.73

758,907,908

Taiwan

393,440,865

234,676,985

158,763,880

67.65

628,117,850

Singapore

387,174,076

290,493,575

96,680,501

33.28

677,667,651

Australia

358,804,102

410,630,707

-51,826,605

-12.62

769,434,809

Italy

340,041,752

354,863,351

-14,821,599

-4.18

694,905,103

Mexico

299,793,800

275,457,852

24,335,948

8.83

575,251,652

United Arab Emirates

294,801,791

310,056,500

-15,254,709

-4.92

604,858,291

France

257,835,963

280,739,045

-22,903,082

-8.16

538,575,008

Spain

244,127,676

249,150,321

-5,022,645

-2.02

493,277,997

Austria

240,431,483

265,442,790

-25,011,307

-9.42

505,874,273

Belgium

229,379,263

212,064,694

17,314,569

8.16

441,443,957

Brazil

206,376,928

163,340,304

43,036,624

26.35

369,717,232

Poland

169,290,644

128,862,604

40,428,040

31.37

298,153,248

Turkey

149,338,170

150,485,867

-1,147,697

-0.76

299,824,037

Russian Federation

106,068,921

99,359,762

6,709,159

6.75

205,428,683

Argentina

96,864,686

111,570,397

-14,705,711

-13.18

208,435,083

Bangladesh

91,776,102

65,182,927

26,593,175

40.80

156,959,029

Chile

81,919,990

117,039,950

-35,119,960

-30.01

198,959,940

Myanmar

78,956,224

24,739,650

54,216,574

219.15

103,695,874

Czech

78,782,402

40,028,456

38,753,946

96.82

118,810,858

South Africa

78,551,217

43,429,332

35,121,885

80.87

121,980,549

Sweden

72,339,825

108,664,931

-36,325,106

-33.43

181,004,756

Saudi Arabia

65,528,805

64,659,530

869,275

1.34

130,188,335

Slovakia

65,157,698

54,214,930

10,942,768

20.18

119,372,628

Ireland

59,524,437

73,711,354

-14,186,917

-19.25

133,235,791

Israel

57,647,754

67,855,851

-10,208,097

-15.04

125,503,605

New Zealand

51,709,375

58,906,413

-7,197,038

-12.22

110,615,788

Egypt

45,739,069

32,320,336

13,418,733

41.52

78,059,405

Laos

45,366,220

27,798,924

17,567,296

63.19

73,165,144

Pakistan

41,693,707

24,676,571

17,017,136

68.96

66,370,278

Colombia

41,093,409

56,331,316

-15,237,907

-27.05

97,424,725

Portugal

38,675,160

41,443,330

-2,768,170

-6.68

80,118,490

Greece

36,367,544

32,219,363

4,148,181

12.87

68,586,907

Algeria

31,352,523

8,486,240

22,866,283

269.45

39,838,763

Peru

29,968,439

33,731,937

-3,763,498

-11.16

63,700,376

Hungary

29,802,858

26,571,043

3,231,815

12.16

56,373,901

Slovenia

28,032,707

26,208,167

1,824,540

6.96

54,240,874

Denmark

26,352,566

26,152,806

199,760

0.76

52,505,372

Norway

25,686,342

9,075,038

16,611,304

183.04

34,761,380

Latvia

22,368,995

31,602,988

-9,233,993

-29.22

53,971,983

Panama

21,212,134

57,722,009

-36,509,875

-63.25

78,934,143

Finland

20,055,517

32,838,703

-12,783,186

-38.93

52,894,220

Romania

18,822,772

14,434,078

4,388,694

30.41

33,256,850

Togo

18,168,844

13,861,516

4,307,328

31.07

32,030,360

Iraq

15,816,166

18,275,258

-2,459,092

-13.46

34,091,424

Luxembourg

13,536,753

10,728,246

2,808,507

26.18

24,264,999

Switzerland

12,835,639

12,977,935

-142,296

-1.10

25,813,574

Sri Lanka

11,949,678

13,544,005

-1,594,327

-11.77

25,493,683

Bulgaria

9,493,764

5,716,039

3,777,725

66.09

15,209,803

Tanzania

9,320,021

3,456,136

5,863,885

169.67

12,776,157

Kenya

8,545,068

4,955,958

3,589,110

72.42

13,501,026

Nigeria

7,526,551

7,404,023

122,528

1.65

14,930,574

Croatia

7,028,744

12,742,917

-5,714,173

-44.84

19,771,661

Lithuania

6,890,119

12,391,595

-5,501,476

-44.40

19,281,714

Kuwait

6,814,564

2,854,911

3,959,653

138.70

9,669,475

Ghana

5,774,047

3,761,986

2,012,061

53.48

9,536,033

Mozambique

5,373,390

6,425,393

-1,052,003

-16.37

11,798,783

Cyprus

4,865,164

2,845,852

2,019,312

70.96

7,711,016

Brunei Darussalam

4,327,319

1,876,573

2,450,746

130.60

6,203,892

Ivory Coast

3,607,207

17,324,751

-13,717,544

-79.18

20,931,958

Senegal

3,157,834

2,095,501

1,062,333

50.70

5,253,335

Estonia

2,371,671

1,880,899

490,772

26.09

4,252,570

Ukraine

1,674,174

1,768,731

-94,557

-5.35

3,442,905

Angola

1,416,028

992,639

423,389

42.65

2,408,667

Malta

1,117,025

896,949

220,076

24.54

2,013,974

East Timor

900,616

534,370

366,246

68.54

1,434,986

Total

25,493,941,981

23,135,000,763

2,358,941,218

10.20

48,628,942,744

Source: Vietnam Customs Exports By Country

About Vietnam’s import and export data

Data in these tables was accessed via Vietnam’s customs portal March 16, 2023.


January 2023

Vietnam’s total import-export turnover in January was US$46.5 billion down from US$56.3 billion in December. This may have been partly due to the week-long Lunar New Year holiday. There may also be some carry-over from December in which manufacturing orders were down due to greater global challenges (See also: Vietnamese Garment Makers Hit Snag).

So, in January, what did Vietnam export and to where, and what did it import and from where?

Vietnam’s total imports and exports

Description January (US$) December (US$) Change (US$) Change (%)
Imports 22,954,892,887 27,292,323,798 -4,337,430,911 -15.89
Exports 23,610,989,174 29,029,008,580 -5,418,019,406 -18.66
Total 46,565,882,061 56,321,332,378 -9,755,450,317 -17.32

Imports and exports of foreign direct invested companies

Description January (US$) December (US$) Change (US$) Change (%)
Imports 15,529,779,203 17,104,114,379 -1,574,335,176 -9.20
Exports 17,970,237,911 20,937,721,787 -2,967,483,876 -14.17
Total 33,500,017,114 38,041,836,166 -4,541,819,052 -11.94

What were Vietnam’s main imports?

In January, Vietnam’s top three imports were: computers, electronic products, spare parts and components; machinery, equipment, tools, and instruments; and other products. These three imports set Vietnam back a collective US$10.5 billion. This was about a quarter of Vietnam’s exports by value.

See also: An Introduction to Vietnam’s Import and Export Industries 

Vietnam imports January 2023, by value

Description January (US$) December (US$) Change (US$) Change (%)
Computers, electrical products, spare-parts and components thereof

6,562,619,439

5,786,146,937

776,472,502

13.42

Machine, equipment, tools and instruments

2,739,303,788

3,537,739,224

-798,435,436

-22.57

Other products

1,224,010,304

1,801,697,218

-577,686,914

-32.06

Fabrics

936,043,314

1,030,259,151

-94,215,837

-9.14

Petroleum products

911,434,527

822,671,657

88,762,870

10.79

Telephones, mobile phones and parts thereof

793,855,750

1,411,708,661

-617,852,911

-43.77

Crude oil

677,319,598

651,989,527

25,330,071

3.89

Plastics

588,061,603

717,491,361

-129,429,758

-18.04

Other base metals

556,275,522

668,210,462

-111,934,940

-16.75

Iron and steel

525,840,231

810,823,455

-284,983,224

-35.15

Plastic products

515,879,959

608,358,075

-92,478,116

-15.20

Chemical products

501,261,524

658,739,642

-157,478,118

-23.91

Chemicals

478,290,706

606,576,227

-128,285,521

-21.15

Iron and steel products

384,320,364

432,412,392

-48,092,028

-11.12

Textile, leather and foot-wear materials and auxiliaries

377,390,876

449,141,125

-71,750,249

-15.97

Animal fodders and animal fodder materials

377,266,496

584,700,216

-207,433,720

-35.48

Motor vehicles

314,502,938

431,552,408

-117,049,470

-27.12

Parts and accessories of motor vehicles

305,121,636

497,714,480

-192,592,844

-38.70

Coal

272,157,145

491,311,989

-219,154,844

-44.61

Maize (corn)

269,354,273

386,198,076

-116,843,803

-30.25

Pharmaceutical products

242,180,046

505,727,879

-263,547,833

-52.11

Still image, video cameras and parts thereof

201,741,200

226,538,276

-24,797,076

-10.95

Ores and other minerals product

188,759,585

99,690,217

89,069,368

89.35

Fishery products

188,521,794

225,322,224

-36,800,430

-16.33

Liquefied petroleum gases (LPG)

177,598,806

125,147,767

52,451,039

41.91

Cotton

175,146,393

259,246,855

-84,100,462

-32.44

Rubber

167,303,210

246,923,840

-79,620,630

-32.25

Insulated wires and cables

161,380,234

209,291,778

-47,911,544

-22.89

Other base metal products

155,603,717

158,240,008

-2,636,291

-1.67

Fruits and vegetables

149,105,266

199,108,551

-50,003,285

-25.11

Yarn

135,990,655

164,407,870

-28,417,215

-17.28

Cashew nut

129,758,684

100,753,494

29,005,190

28.79

Wood and wooden products

120,488,786

206,299,294

-85,810,508

-41.60

Paper

118,248,459

158,332,741

-40,084,282

-25.32

Glass and glassware

117,179,005

127,894,434

-10,715,429

-8.38

Other means of transportation, parts and accessories thereof

115,114,551

88,912,571

26,201,980

29.47

Other petroleum products

109,254,447

207,484,895

-98,230,448

-47.34

Electric consumer products and parts thereof

96,209,410

157,882,767

-61,673,357

-39.06

Milk and milk products

88,961,629

94,371,745

-5,410,116

-5.73

Wheats

86,552,811

82,544,882

4,007,929

4.86

Other edible food preparations

82,566,577

95,670,604

-13,104,027

-13.70

Ferrous waste and scrap

82,275,589

78,050,095

4,225,494

5.41

Animal, vegetable fats and oils

68,104,854

159,969,958

-91,865,104

-57.43

Essential oils and resinoids; perfumery, cosmetic or toilet preparations

66,874,869

105,031,601

-38,156,732

-36.33

Rubber products

63,245,311

84,195,787

-20,950,476

-24.88

Fertilizers

57,057,382

155,138,347

-98,080,965

-63.22

Motorcycles and parts, accessories thereof

52,373,909

64,587,801

-12,213,892

-18.91

Paper products

51,555,560

69,013,296

-17,457,736

-25.30

Precious stones, precious metal and articles thereof

46,818,173

85,777,235

-38,959,062

-45.42

Soya beans

46,154,956

137,826,770

-91,671,814

-66.51

Insecticides, rodenticides and materials

42,865,169

57,991,678

-15,126,509

-26.08

Pharmaceutical materials

30,160,494

52,490,718

-22,330,224

-42.54

Pastrycooks, sweets and cereal products

27,434,220

64,181,347

-36,747,127

-57.26

Tobacco materials

1,997,143

52,834,190

-50,837,047

-96.22

TOTAL VALUE

22,954,892,887

27,292,323,798

-4,337,430,911

-15.89

Imports of FDI Companies

15,529,779,203

17,104,114,379

-1,574,335,176

-9.20

Source: General Department of Customs (Imports)

What were Vietnam’s main exports?

Vietnam’s top three exports were Telephones, mobile phones and parts thereof; Computers, electrical products, spare-parts and components thereof; and Machine, equipment, tools and instruments. These accounted for US$11.1 billion worth of exports for Vietnam.

See also: Import, Export, and Investment Incentives in Vietnam 

Vietnam’s exports January 2023, by value

Description January (US$) December (US$) Change (US$) Change (%)
Telephones, mobile phones and parts thereof

5,020,698,232

3,104,425,627

1,916,272,605

61.73

Computers, electrical products, spare-parts and components thereof

3,172,033,164

4,787,334,315

-1,615,301,151

-33.74

Machine, equipment, tools and instruments

2,900,597,029

3,726,829,075

-826,232,046

-22.17

Textiles and garments

2,250,526,485

2,900,961,055

-650,434,570

-22.42

Foot-wears

1,367,731,663

1,851,668,469

-483,936,806

-26.14

Other products

988,710,088

1,446,344,582

-457,634,494

-31.64

Other means of transportation, parts and accessories thereof

852,779,613

1,119,109,080

-266,329,467

-23.80

Wood and wooden products

806,029,437

1,309,407,281

-503,377,844

-38.44

Still image, video cameras and sparts thereof

474,016,558

503,266,251

-29,249,693

-5.81

Fishery products

457,211,746

754,511,193

-297,299,447

-39.40

Iron and steel

456,985,917

584,031,081

-127,045,164

-21.75

Iron and steel products

313,777,304

363,263,733

-49,486,429

-13.62

Plastic products

312,856,372

454,423,718

-141,567,346

-31.15

Coffee

310,439,892

425,164,539

-114,724,647

-26.98

Other base metals and other base metal products

275,641,785

380,277,508

-104,635,723

-27.52

Toys and sports requisites; parts and accessories thereof

270,734,101

402,849,569

-132,115,468

-32.80

Handbags, purses, suit-cases, headgear and umbrellas

260,500,119

338,412,376

-77,912,257

-23.02

Insulated wires and cables

250,967,269

292,215,217

-41,247,948

-14.12

Fruits and vegetables

242,030,374

312,505,162

-70,474,788

-22.55

Yarn

225,524,928

325,353,916

-99,828,988

-30.68

Rice

186,599,109

220,260,396

-33,661,287

-15.28

Rubber

182,582,277

365,210,505

-182,628,228

-50.01

Chemicals

175,135,562

213,762,784

-38,627,222

-18.07

Cashew nut

155,806,407

269,097,789

-113,291,382

-42.10

Crude oil

149,872,217

237,811,374

-87,939,157

-36.98

Furnitures of other materials, other than of wood

148,717,648

261,544,713

-112,827,065

-43.14

Chemical products

148,305,298

220,046,161

-71,740,863

-32.60

Plastics

140,077,691

198,657,261

-58,579,570

-29.49

Petroleum products

136,973,949

242,371,147

-105,397,198

-43.49

Paper and paper products

128,878,598

164,512,783

-35,634,185

-21.66

Textile, leather and foot-wear materials and auxiliaries

121,150,424

172,361,502

-51,211,078

-29.71

Manioc and manioc products

92,701,559

152,771,361

-60,069,802

-39.32

Clinker and cement

81,561,972

124,437,430

-42,875,458

-34.46

Fertilizers

63,910,737

65,030,074

-1,119,337

-1.72

Rubber products

58,231,207

89,878,983

-31,647,776

-35.21

Glass and glassware

58,230,500

54,227,863

4,002,637

7.38

Tyre cord fabrics and other fabrics for technical uses

57,759,389

62,604,742

-4,845,353

-7.74

Pastrycooks, sweets and cereals products

55,548,931

86,100,688

-30,551,757

-35.48

Precious stones, precious metal and articles thereof

50,720,973

90,666,121

-39,945,148

-44.06

Animal fodders and animal fodder materials

50,055,397

91,048,928

-40,993,531

-45.02

Bamboo and rattan products

45,756,979

66,898,836

-21,141,857

-31.60

Pepper

43,206,012

73,540,082

-30,334,070

-41.25

Ceramic products

41,220,062

62,645,162

-21,425,100

-34.20

Ores and other minerals product

16,494,627

23,368,461

-6,873,834

-29.42

Tea

11,368,196

20,453,343

-9,085,147

-44.42

Coal

331,377

17,346,344

-17,014,967

-98.09

Total

23,610,989,174

29,029,008,580

-5,418,019,406

-18.66

Exports of FDI Companies

17,970,237,911

20,937,721,787

-2,967,483,876

-14.17

Source: General Department of Customs (Exports)

Where did Vietnam’s imports come from?

Vietnam imported goods from all over the world in January. Asia was its biggest supplier with just over US$19 billion in goods imported. The lion’s share of those imports came from China followed by South Korea.

Market Jan 2023 (US$b) Compared to Jan 2022( %) Proportion (%)
Asia 19.16 -24.50 83.50
ASEAN 3.2 -14.20 13.20
China 7.23 -34.70 31.50
Korea 3.91 -24.70 17.00
Japan 1.68 -3.90 7.30
Americas 1.70 -12.00 7.40
United States 0.92 -13.60 4.00
Europe 1.25 -28.50 5.50
EU (27) 1.02 -18.60 4.40
Oceania 0.57 -28.60 2.50
Africa 0.28 -22.70 1.20
Total 22.95 -24.00 100.00

Where did Vietnam’s exports go?

The bulk of Vietnam’s exports were distributed within Asia (48 percent), however, the Americas were not far behind receiving US$7.4 billion worth of Vietnamese goods. By country, China was the biggest recipient of Vietnamese goods in January accounting for 16.4 percent.

Market Jan 2023 (US$b) Compared to Jan 2022 (%) Proportion (%)
Asia 11.48 -17.20 48.60
ASEAN 2.17 -21.90 9.20
China 3.87 -0.10 16.40
Korea 1.69 -16.20 7.20
Japan 1.54 -24.30 6.50
Americas 7.40 -36.60 31.30
United States 6.15 -38.90 26.1
Europe 4.06 -26.00 17.20
EU (27) 3.28 -25.30 13.90
Oceania 0.48 -4.50 2.00
Africa 0.18 -42.70 0.80
Total 23.61 -25.90 100.00

See also: A Guide to Import and Export Procedures in Vietnam 

About Vietnam’s import and export data

Vietnam’s export and import data is released by the General Department of Customs monthly and provides data for the month before.

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