Trade in deficit so far this year
Total import-export turnover this year stood at $345.45 billion as of July 15, with export value of $171.22 billion and import value of $174.23 billion. Vietnam therefore posted a trade deficit of $3.01 billion. In the first half of July, total import-export turnover reached $27.39 billion, down 4.7 per cent compared to the $32.3 billion recorded in the same period last year. Export turnover was just $12.78 billion, a sharp decline of $2 billion compared to the second half of June and down 13.9 per cent year-on-year. Covid-19 is the culprit, as is greater cargo congestion at seaports due to a global shortage of containers and shipping lines raising their transportation fees.