On the morning of August 5, speaking at the regular Government meeting in July 2024 chaired by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien informed about industrial and commercial activities in the first 7 months of 2024 and proposed solutions to promote export development in the last months of the year.

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said that in the first 7 months of 2024, the total import-export turnover of goods nationwide reached 440 billion USD, an increase of 17.1% over the same period; in which, export activities continued to recover strongly in all markets and imports were estimated at nearly 213 billion USD, an increase of 18.5% over the same period last year.

“The good news is that most of the imported goods are raw materials for manufacturing industries, so it is forecasted that production and export activities in the last months of the year will continue to have many positive signals,” said Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien. At the same time, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien also stated that in the first 7 months of 2024, the trade balance continued to have a trade surplus of more than 14 billion USD, and exports of domestic enterprises were more positive, increasing about 1.8 times compared to the increase of foreign enterprises.

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said that this is also a good sign showing that domestic enterprises have gradually accessed the global production and supply chain.

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien speaks at the regular Government meeting in July 2024. Photo: VGP

In addition to the bright spots in import-export activities, in the first 7 months of 2024, trade promotion and export market expansion have been focused on by functional units in the Ministry of Industry and Trade, both exploiting traditional markets and actively expanding to new markets, especially markets in Africa, Eastern Europe, Northern Europe and West Asia...

Previously, the report of the Ministry of Industry and Trade also said that in the first 7 months of 2024, the export turnover of goods is estimated at 226.98 billion USD, up 15.7% over the same period last year, of which the domestic economic sector reached 63.08 billion USD, up 21.1%, accounting for 27.8% of total export turnover.

Notably, in the 7 months, exports to most markets, especially major trading partners, have recovered well and achieved high double-digit growth. For example, Vietnam's exports to the United States are estimated at 66.09 billion USD, accounting for 29% of the country's total export turnover and increasing by 24.4% over the same period last year (the same period last year decreased by nearly 20%); followed by the Chinese market with an estimated turnover of 33.38 billion USD, up 7.2%; the EU market is estimated at 29.34 billion USD, up 15.8%; South Korea is estimated at 14.39 billion USD, up 9%; Japan is estimated at 13.46 billion USD, up 2.8%.

On the contrary, in the context of high domestic production and consumption, the demand for imported raw materials, machinery and equipment for production increased sharply, so the import turnover of goods in the first 7 months of 2024 is estimated at 212.9 billion USD, an increase of 18.5% over the same period last year.

Statistics show that 89% of the total import turnover in the first 7 months of 2024 is the group of goods that need to be imported (including machinery, equipment, spare parts and raw materials for domestic production), with an estimated turnover of 189.3 billion USD, an increase of 19.7% over the same period in 2023. This is a positive signal for the economy in the context of high domestic production and consumption, the demand for imported raw materials, machinery and equipment for production has increased sharply to serve newly signed orders.

With the above results, in the first 7 months of 2024, the estimated trade balance of goods had a trade surplus of 14.08 billion USD (in the same period last year, the trade surplus was 16.5 billion USD), of which the domestic economic sector had a trade deficit of 14.92 billion USD; the foreign-invested sector (including crude oil) had a trade surplus of 29 billion USD.

However, in the last months of the year, import and export activities continued to depend on a number of markets, goods and FDI sectors, while a number of key export items to major markets (EU, US) continued to face pressure from trade defense investigations and technical barriers.

To promote import and export of goods in the last months of the year, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said that the Ministry of Industry and Trade will strengthen coordination with ministries, branches and localities to focus on consolidating traditional large markets; expanding new markets; supporting businesses in preparing conditions, meeting new standards, green standards, promoting, promoting trade, accessing potential markets and investigating anti-dumping of Vietnamese goods...

Along with the above solutions, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will continue to closely monitor developments in markets and import-export policies of countries to promptly inform associations and businesses.