That contributed to last month’s total export and import value of more than 64 billion USD, rising by almost 38% year on year.

The strong export growth was driven mainly by the agro-forestry-fishery sector and the processing industry, which saw respective increases of nearly 97% and 38% in overseas shipments.

In particular, the export of telephones of all kinds and components brought home nearly 6 billion USD, surging over 56% month on month, partly thanks to Samsung’s launch of its new mobile phone series Samsung Galaxy S24 in mid-January.

Agricultural products remained a bright spot of the export panorama as a result of good prices.

MoIT data showed that coffee and rice prices grew 35% and 33.5% to 2,955 USD and 693 USD per tonne, respectively.

The US was still the biggest importer of Vietnamese goods last month, with 9.6 billion USD in value – up almost 56% from a year earlier. Exports to other traditional markets like China, the EU, and ASEAN respectively increased 58%, 18%, and 38%.

Meanwhile, Vietnam imported over 30.6 billion USD worth of goods, nearly 95% of which was materials for production for the Lunar New Year festival.

China remained the largest exporter of goods to Vietnam, with an approximated value of 11 billion USD in January, soaring 50% year on year.

Nguyen Cam Trang, Deputy Director of the MoIT’s Agency of Foreign Trade, said that the world situation is forecast to continue witnessing big and unpredictable changes, along with intertwined opportunities and challenges in 2024. However, there are still many opportunities for exports to bounce back and grow this year when the unsold inventory in the US is gradually being resolved.

The agency forecast this year’s foreign trade turnover may rise by over 6% from 2023, and Vietnam can continue recording a trade surplus, she noted./.VNA