According to newly released data from the Vietnam Customs Department under the Ministry of Finance, exports in April reached USD 45.99 billion, down 1.3 per cent from the previous month, equivalent to a decline of USD 586 million.
Imports, meanwhile, rose 5.9 per cent month-on-month to USD 49.98 billion, an increase of USD 2.8 billion.
Total trade turnover in April reached USD 95.97 billion, up 2.4 per cent compared with March.
In the first four months of the year, exports totalled USD 169.02 billion, up 20.1 per cent year-on-year, while imports climbed 29.5 per cent to USD 176.66 billion.
As a result, Vietnam’s total import-export turnover reached USD 345.68 billion in the January-April period, an increase of 24.7 per cent from the same period last year, equivalent to an additional USD 68.47 billion.
State budget revenue from import-export activities reached VND 46.974 trillion (approximately USD 1.81 billion) in April, up 1.8 per cent from the previous month.
Cumulative revenue by April 30 totalled VND 166.301 trillion (approximately USD 6.41 billion), equivalent to 36.9 per cent of the annual target assigned by the government.
Customs authorities said smuggling, trade fraud and illegal cross-border transportation of goods continued to develop in a complicated manner during April.
Major violations included illegal transportation of gold and diesel fuel along central border routes with Laos and waterways bordering Cambodia, as well as trafficking of banned goods and frozen food of unknown origin near the border with China.
Sea routes accounted for the largest share of violations, with 1,237 cases detected, representing 57.5 per cent of all recorded offences and marking a 75.9 per cent increase year-on-year.
Violations were concentrated at major ports including Cat Lai, Haiphong, Cai Mep and Danang, mainly involving counterfeit goods, intellectual property infringements and imports without permits.
On land routes, authorities detected 597 cases, up 32.1 per cent from a year earlier. Smuggling activities were concentrated along borders with China, Laos and Cambodia, involving diesel fuel, narcotics, frozen food, cosmetics, household appliances and mobile phones.
Notable cases included the illegal transportation of thousands of litres of diesel fuel into Laos, the seizure of 2,400 synthetic drug pills at Lao Bao border gate and the confiscation of 59.2kg of pangolin scales in Cao Bang province.
Air routes recorded 107 cases, up 24.4 per cent year-on-year, mainly at Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat and Danang airports.
Postal and express delivery channels recorded 190 violations, a sharp increase of 150 per cent, including sophisticated drug smuggling methods such as concealing cocaine in luggage, cannabis in dried shrimp bags and ketamine shipments sent from Germany to Vietnam.
Between March 15 and April 14, customs authorities detected and handled 2,152 violations, up 61.8 per cent from the same period last year, with the value of confiscated goods estimated at VND 1.72 trillion (approximately USD 66.3 million).
Authorities initiated criminal proceedings in 15 cases and collected VND 76.2 billion (approximately USD 2.94 million) for the state budget.