China remains biggest trade partner of Vietnam in January: Vietnamese customs

HANOI - China remained the biggest trade partner of Vietnam in the first month of 2017, according to Vietnam Customs on Monday.

Vietnam's exports to China went up 34.4 percent year-on-year while imports hiked 0.4 percent, helping reducing the country's trade deficit with China, said the customs.

South Korea and the United States were also among main trading partners of Vietnam last month. Vietnam saw growth in its exports to and imports from South Korea, with respective rises of 29.4 percent and 30 percent year-on-year. The country's exports to the United States rose slightly at 0.3 percent while that of imports climbed 14.6 percent year-on-year.

In January, Vietnam earned $14.34 billion from exports, down 13.5 percent over the previous month. Major revenue earners included cell phones and accessories, accounting for 16.2 percent of the national total exports, garment and textile, making up 15 percent, computers, electronic products and accessories, taking up 10.5 percent, among others.

The United States topped markets for Vietnamese garment and textile with revenue of nearly $1.08 billion, up 5.8 percent year-on-year, followed by Japan with $253 million, and South Korea with $215 million.

Most computers, electronic products and accessories of Vietnam were exported to China last month with revenue of $365 million, some 1.12 times as much as that of the same period last year, said Vietnam Customs.

Meanwhile, exports of these products to the United States went down 9.7 percent year-on-year to hit $163 million.

During the month, Vietnamese exported nearly $1.17 billion worth of footwear, down 4.8 percent year-on-year, with top sales to the United States of $379 million and China of $77 million.

Last month, Vietnam's exports of wood and wood-related products to China went up over 40 percent year-on-year, while those to the United States decreased by 6.6 percent year-on-year.

Also, Vietnam recorded sharp increase in rubber exports to China, with 131.4 percent year-on-year, said Vietnam Customs.

In the first month, the country spent nearly $13.19 billion on imports, down 22.8 percent against December 2016. As a result, Vietnam enjoyed a trade surplus of over $1.15 billion in January.