Vietnam’s Import-Export Growth in the First Half of 2025
Vietnam’s import-export activities showed strong growth in the first half of 2025, with a total turnover reaching $432.03 billion. This represents a significant 16.1% increase compared to the same period in the previous year. The country’s export earnings rose by 14.4%, while imports increased by 17.9%, resulting in a trade surplus of $7.63 billion. These figures were reported by the National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Finance.
Export Performance and Key Sectors
In June alone, the export turnover saw a notable surge of 16.3% year-on-year. While the domestic economic sector experienced a decline of 5.7%, the foreign-invested sector, including crude oil, recorded a robust increase of 24.4%.
The total export value for January to June reached $219.83 billion, reflecting a 14.4% year-on-year growth. Domestic exports contributed $58.28 billion, an increase of 9.4%, accounting for 26.5% of the total export turnover. Meanwhile, the foreign-invested sector, which includes crude oil, generated $161.55 billion, up 16.4% and representing 73.5% of total exports.
During this period, 28 export items exceeded the $1 billion mark, contributing 91.7% of the total export value. Among these, nine items surpassed the $5 billion threshold, making up 72.3% of the total export value.
Dominant Export Categories
By sector, processed industrial goods remained the largest contributor to Vietnam’s exports, generating $194.28 billion, or 88.4% of the total. Agricultural and forestry products accounted for $19.12 billion (8.7%), seafood reached $5.11 billion (2.3%), and fuel and mineral products totaled $1.34 billion (0.6%).
Import Trends and Major Trading Partners
On the import side, Vietnam spent $212.2 billion on imports during the first half of the year, a 17.9% increase compared to the same period last year. Thirty-three imported items exceeded $1 billion in value, comprising 89.0% of total imports. Six of these items surpassed the $5 billion mark, accounting for 56.8% of the total import volume.
The United States remained Vietnam’s largest trading partner in terms of exports, with a turnover of $70.91 billion. China continued to be the biggest source of imports, valued at $84.7 billion. Vietnam achieved a trade surplus of $62 billion with the U.S., a 29.1% increase from the previous year. Additionally, the trade surplus with the European Union expanded by 11.6% to $19 billion. Notably, the trade surplus with Japan reached $1.2 billion, rising by 69.1% compared to the same period in 2024.
Trade Deficits with Key Partners
Despite these positive developments, Vietnam continued to face trade deficits with several major partners. The largest deficit was with China, amounting to $55.6 billion, a 42.2% increase from the previous year. The Republic of Korea also recorded a deficit of $14.6 billion, up 0.1%, while the trade deficit with ASEAN reached $7.5 billion, increasing by 67.4% compared to the same period in 2024.
