The country’s export earnings grew by 10.6%, while its import turnover rose by 17%, resulting in a trade surplus of $3.16 billion in the period.
In March alone, the total trade revenue reached $75.39 billion, up 18.2% compared to the previous month, and 16.6% year-on-year.
The export value in the month stood at $38.51 billion, up 23.8% month-on-month. The domestic economic sector posted an impressive growth rate of 32.1% to $11.08 billion, while the foreign-invested sector, including crude oil, increased by 20.7% to $27.43 billion.
For the first quarter, Vietnam’s export turnover reached $102.84 billion, a 10.6% year-on-year rise. The domestic sector contributed $29.02 billion (up 15%), accounting for 28.2% of total exports, while the foreign-invested sector, including crude oil, earned $73.82 billion (up 9%), making up 71.8% of total exports.
During this period, 18 export items surpassed the $1 billion mark, accounting for 84.5% of total export value. Five of these items exceeded $5 billion, or 59.9%.
On the import side, Vietnam spent $99.68 billion on imports in the Jan–March period, up 17% year-on-year. The domestic sector imported $36.78 billion worth of goods (up 19.3%), while the foreign-invested sector’s import value stood at $62.9 billion (up 15.8%).
Seventeen imported items exceeded $1 billion in value, comprising 77.2% of total imports, with two of those surpassing the $5 billion mark, accounting for 44.4%.
The U.S. remained Vietnam’s largest export market, with turnover reaching $31.4 billion. Meanwhile, China continued to be the country’s biggest import source, with imports valued at $38.1 billion.
In the first quarter, Vietnam ran a trade surplus of $27.3 billion with the U.S., a 22.1% increase year-on-year, while its surplus with the EU expanded by 15.7% to $9.9 billion. Notably, the country’s trade surplus with Japan surged to $0.6 billion, over 5 times higher than the same period in 2024.