On May 22, 2023, the General Customs Office announced preliminary data on the import and export of Vietnamese goods in the first half of May 2023 (from May 1 to May 15, 2023).

Accordingly, the total import-export value of Vietnam in the first period of May 2023 reached US$23.89 billion, down 10.8% (equivalent to a decrease of US$2.89 billion) compared to the period from May 2 to 2023 Corresponds to April 2023.

The results achieved in the first half of May 2023 led the country’s total import-export value to reach US$230.59 billion by the end of May 15, 2023, down 15.4%, down of $42.1 billion in absolute terms over the same period in 2022.

The total import-export value of foreign direct investment (FDI) reached US$160.26 billion, down 15.1% (equivalent to US$28.5 billion).

In terms of exports in particular, they reached $11.45 billion in the first period in May 2023, a decrease of 21.3% (a decrease of $3.1 billion in absolute terms) compared to the 2nd period in April 2023 corresponds.

Some commodity groups valued at May 1, 2023 decreased compared to the April 2, 2023 period, including: All Types and Components Phones, down $755 million (equivalent to 38.7%); Other machinery, equipment, tools and parts decreased $452 million (a decrease of 25.7%); All Kinds of Iron and Steel fell $247 million (equivalent to 44.1%); Textiles & Apparel declined $189 million (representing a decrease of 13.9%).

Thus, the total export value of Vietnam reached US$118.58 billion by the end of May 15, 2023, down 12.8% (equivalent to US$17.47 billion) compared to the same period in 2022.

Of this, phones and components declined by USD 4.47 billion (equivalent to 19.5%); Textiles & Apparel declined $2.3 billion (equivalent to 17.4%); Lumber and wood products declined $1.88 billion (representing a decrease of 30.2%); Computers, Electronic Products and Components declined by $1.6 billion over the same period in 2022, down 8.2%.

Statistics from the Department of Customs also show that the export value of goods by FDI companies in the first period of May 2023 reached US$8.09 billion, down 22.6%, down US$2.36 billion -dollars compared to May 2 corresponds to April 2023 period.

By the end of May 15, 2023, the total export value of goods of the group of FDI companies reached US$87.17 billion, down 12.4%, down US$12.39 billion from the the same period of the previous year, which corresponds to a share of 73.5%. of the country’s total export value.

From the opposite direction, in the first period of May 2023, the value of imported goods of Vietnam reached $12.44 billion, up 1.7% (equivalent to an increase of $212 million in absolute terms) in the Compared to the actual result corresponds to the second half of April 2023.

Commodity groups with increased import value included Crude Oil, up $101 million (an increase of 40.3%); Computers, Electronic Products & Components increased $87 million (equivalent to 3%); Machinery, equipment, tools and parts increased by $76 million (an increase of 4.6%)…

Year-to-date to the end of May 15, 2023, the country’s total import value reached US$112.01 billion, down 18% (equivalent to US$24.63 billion) compared to the same period in 2022.

This included sharp declines across a number of product groups, including: phones and components down $5.47 billion (a 66.5% decrease); Computers, Electronic Products & Components declined $4.39 billion (equivalent to 13.4%); Other machinery, equipment, tools and parts declined by $2.15 billion (a 13.2% decrease) over the same period in 2022.

Data from the General Ministry of Customs shows that the import value of goods by foreign direct investment enterprises in the first period in May 2023 reached US$8.18 billion, up 4% (equivalent to an increase of US$317 million) compared to the second period in April corresponds to 2023.

By the end of May 15, 2023, the total import value of FDI companies reached US$73.09 billion, down 18.1% (equivalent to US$16.14 billion) compared to the same period in 2022 . This equates to 65.3% of the total import value of the country…

With the above results, in the first period of May 2023, the goods trade balance showed a deficit of $988 million. From the beginning of the year to the end of May 15, 2023, the trade balance of goods showed a surplus of $6.57 billion.

Explaining the reason for the decline in exports in the four months and first half of May 2023 at the latest regular press conference of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Deputy Minister Do Thang Hai said major economies are Vietnam’s export partners. Vietnam countries like the United States and the EU reduced spending on purchasing conventional and luxury goods, leading to a drop in order volume, while domestic industrial manufacturing was mainly export-oriented and heavily dependent on the world market as domestic production met demand exceeds the domestic market.

In addition, the decline in export orders and the decline in export prices are also among the factors that reduce export sales. In the first four months of 2022, many commodities saw sharp price falls of 20-30% compared to the same period last year, such as: Pepper down 34.3%, Rubber down 21.2%, Crude Oil down 15.9%, Ores and other minerals down 19.8%, iron and steel down 25.2%, fertilizers of all kinds down 33.6%…

Regarding the trade balance, Deputy Minister Do Thang Hai said that the high trade surplus has helped stabilize the balance of payments and stabilize the macro-economy, but careful reassessment is required in the current situation because the export trade surplus is due to the decline in input material imports due to a lack of orders is not necessarily positive. On the contrary, in some cases the trade deficit is not necessarily bad. It is necessary to coordinate to make a more accurate reassessment and thus find solutions for import-export activities in the coming period.

According to Vice Minister Do Thang Hai, the global economy continues to face difficulties, although there are signs of recovery, but slow and uneven across countries, so consumer demand is also slow to recover. In addition, developed countries are increasingly concerned about consumer safety issues and are introducing new standards and new technical barriers for imported products. The reopening of China, increasing competition in Vietnam’s export markets… will be factors that will continue to affect Vietnam’s production, import and export in the coming months.