Vietnam posts a trade surplus of 225 million USD in the first 11 months of this year.

Vietnam posted a trade surplus of 225 million USD in the first 11 months of this year, ending the continual trade deficit that had lasted for nearly half a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the period, exports went up 17.5 percent year on year to 299.7 billion USD, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

A representative from the ministry said exports are seeing advantages thanks to free trade agreements and rising shopping demand at the end of the year.

The US remained Vietnam’s biggest export market with a turnover of nearly 85 billion USD, accounting for 28.3 percent of the total, followed by China with some 50.5 billion USD.

Manufacturing and processing accounted for 86 percent of export value, with the resumption of southern companies after three months of suspension boosting industry recovery.

Textile and garment exports expanded 7 percent to nearly 29 billion USD.

Iron and steel exports exceeded 10 billion USD for the first time to reach 10.8 billion USD, up nearly 130 percent year-on-year.

Agriculture and forestry saw exports rising 11.4 percent year-on-year to nearly 25.2 billion USD.

In November, Vietnam’s exports reached around 30 billion USD, a year-on-year rise of 18.5 percent. The country gained a trade surplus of 100 million USD in the month.

Meanwhile, total imports rose 27.5 percent to over 299.4 billion USD in the first 11 months.

China was the biggest buyer with more than 98.5 billion USD, up 32 percent against the same period last year and accounting for nearly 33 percent of the total. It was followed by the Republic of Korea (RoK) with nearly 50.3 billion USD, up 20.3 percent./.