The sum consists of $122.93 billion in exports and 126.57 in imports, respectively increasing 19.1% and 27%. That resulted in a trade deficit of $3.64 billion, compared to a surplus of $3.57 billion recorded in the same period last year, the National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Finance reported on Saturday.
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Containers seen at Cat Lai Terminal in HCMC, Feb. 4, 2026. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Tung |
During the first three months, domestic enterprises posted $24.47 billion in exports, falling 16.6% and accounting for 19.9% of total overseas shipments, while foreign-invested firms reported $98.46 billion (including crude oil), up 33.3% and making up 80.1%.
Twenty product categories achieved export revenue of over $1 billion each, accounting for 86.8% of the total exports. Among them, five surpassed $5 billion, accounting for 62.4%.
Processed industrial goods raked in $110.52 billion, equivalent to 89.9% of the total; agricultural and forestry products $9.34 billion, 7.6%; aquatic products $2.64 billion, 2.2%; and fuel and mineral products $0.43 billion, 0.3%.
In Q1, 22 imported items reached a value exceeding $1 billion each, making up 82.8% of total import turnover (with two items worth more than $5 billion each, accounting for 49.8%).
Regarding the structure of imports, production materials were valued at $118.84 billion, representing 93.9%. Among them, machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts accounted for 55.3%; raw materials and fuels 38.6%; and consumer goods 6.1%.
Domestic businesses imported $35.2 billion worth of goods during the first three months, down 4.3%, while foreign-invested companies imported $91.37 billion, up 45.3%.
In March alone, exports and imports totaled $93.55 billion, increasing 39.2% from the previous month and 23.9% from the same period last year.
Last month’s overseas shipments reached $46.44 billion, climbing 40.3% month on month. Of this, domestic firms recorded $8.96 billion, up 39.2% from February, and the foreign-invested sector $37.48 billion (including crude oil), up 40.6%.
Compared to the same period last year, the export value in March went up 20.1%, with that of the domestic sector decreasing 20.1% and the foreign-invested one (including crude oil) rising 36.5%.
Meanwhile, imports last month were estimated at $47.11 billion, a month-on-month increase of 38.2%. That led to a trade deficit of $0.67 billion in March, statistics show.
