Vietnam’s January Two-Way Trade Tops US$65.43 Billion

February 23, 2024 Posted by Mark Barnes Written by Dezan Shira and Associates Reading Time: 2 minutes

Vietnam’s two-way trade in January hit US$65.43 billion. This article breaks down where its imports came from and where its exports went.

Vietnam experienced a bumper January in trade terms, relatively speaking, hitting a total of US$65.43 billion in two-way trade. This was made up of US$30.9 billion in imports, increasing 5.1 percent month-on-month, and US$34.53 billion in exports, about 9.7 percent higher than in December.

Part of this was attributed to strong growth in the imports of foreign-invested enterprises. Firms with foreign capital registered US$19.65 billion in imports, up 6.6 percent month-on-month. Exports of foreign-invested enterprises also reached US$24.87 billion, up 11 percent over December.

So, in January, where did Vietnam’s imports come from, and where did its exports go?

Vietnam’s imports

In January, Vietnam received exports from countries all over the world, however, in terms of dollar value, its biggest source countries were its regional neighbors China, South Korea, and Japan. These three countries accounted for about US$18 billion worth of goods imported into Vietnam.

Vietnam’s top 10 import source countries, January 2024

Description	US$
China	11,880,829,197
South Korea	4,188,322,618
Japan	1,952,249,691
Taiwan	1,939,785,550
United States of America	1,235,390,466
Thailand	885,018,450
Malaysia	856,898,835
Australia	729,243,869
Indonesia	708,229,206
Kuwait	655,003,933

Source: General Department of Customs

Vietnam’s exports

Vietnam sent goods all over the world in January 2024. Its key export markets, however, were the United States, China, and South Korea. Collectively these three markets bought US$24.25 billion worth of goods from Vietnam.

Vietnam’s top 10 export markets, January 2024

Destination	US$
United States of America	10,050,254,895
China	4,555,004,111
South Korea	2,340,866,303
Japan	2,229,674,296
Netherlands	1,055,816,094
HongKong	901,222,470
India	829,216,642
United Kingdom	780,495,408
Germany	772,864,445
Thailand	734,443,791

Source: General Department of Customs

Vietnam’s trade in February 2024

Though January saw a marked improvement over December, February will likely be a little tougher. Not only is it a shorter month, but the Lunar New Year break saw many businesses closed for up to five days, reducing output.

That said, the improvement in January over December is still promising and may signal at least some demand is returning to Vietnam’s key export markets. It is, however, too early to tell whether this is an anomaly or a more lasting return to growth.

Firms looking for support importing and exporting goods to/from Vietnam should contact the trade expert at Dezan Shira and Associates.

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Vietnam Briefing is published by Asia Briefing, a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. We produce material for foreign investors throughout Asia, including ASEAN, China, and India. For editorial matters, contact us here and for a complimentary subscription to our products, please click here.

Dezan Shira & Associates provide business intelligence, due diligence, legal, tax and advisory services throughout the Vietnam and the Asian region. We maintain offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, as well as throughout China, South-East Asia, Dubai, and India. For assistance with investments into Vietnam, please contact us at vietnam@dezshira.com or visit us at www.dezshira.com.