The industry and trade sector has posted encouraging results in 2023, with added value in the industry sector estimated to have risen 2.98 per cent for the year as a whole, making an important contribution to Vietnam’s economic recovery, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang has said.

Addressing a recent meeting to review the industry and trade sector’s performance in 2023, Deputy Minister Thang said total import and export revenue in 2023 reached $683 billion, including $354.5 billion worth of exports.

Vietnam has run a trade surplus for eight years in a row, estimated at a record nearly $30 billion this year, or nearly three-times higher than in 2022, she said.

Total retail sales of products and services rose 9.6 per cent against last year, exceeding the annual target of 8-9 per cent.

Also addressing the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha spoke highly of the achievements recorded by the industry and trade sector this year.

In order to overcome the challenges and difficulties facing the sector in the future, he asked it to continue renewing, from mindsets and viewpoints to policies, to gain access to high technology, lead in energy transition, and make full use of the country’s international integration process.