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Vietnam enjoyed a trade surplus of 4 billion USD in 2021, marking the 6th consecutive year in a row the country's export turnover is higher than its import revenue, General Director of the General Statistics Office (GSO) Nguyen Thi Huong said on December 29.

This year, Vietnam’s total foreign trade turnover hit 668.5 billion USD, up 22.6 percent year-on-year, of which exports reached 336.25 billion USD, up 19 percent, and imports earned 332.25 billion USD, up 26.5 percent, Huong said at a press conference announcing socio-economic figures in the fourth quarter and the whole year.

In December alone, the country’s total import-export value was estimated at 66.5 billion USD, up 6.4 percent month-on-month and 19.7 percent year-on-year.

This was a positive result in the context that the COVID-19 pandemic has been affecting negatively the national economy, she said.

In 2021, 35 commodities saw export turnover exceeding the 1 billion USD benchmark, accounting for 93.8 percent of the total turnover, in which eight products posted over 10 billion USD in export turnover, accounting for 69.7 percent.

The US was Vietnam’s biggest export market with a turnover of 95.6 billion USD, while China was Vietnam’s biggest import market with revenue of 109.9 billion USD.

In 2021, Vietnam’s trade surplus with the EU was estimated at 23 billion USD, up 12.1 percent year-on-year, while the country posted a trade deficit of 54 billion USD with China, up 53 percent.

In order to support businesses and promote exports in 2022, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien said that the ministry has been focusing on solutions to strengthen and expand export markets, and paying attention to implementing free trade agreements (FTAs) to effectively bring into full play their preferences and make the most of opportunities and minimise challenges.

The ministry will also prioritise export promotion activities and soon restore export markets after the COVID-19 pandemic is controlled, and closely monitors each market to review and identify the types of goods that countries have demand.

It will focus on implementing import-export administrative procedures in accordance with the national and ASEAN single-window mechanisms to create favourable conditions for associations and enterprises./.