Vietnam's merchandise trade continued to expand strongly during the first eight months of the year, according to the National Statistics Office.
Total import-export turnover reached USD 109.7 billion in August alone, up 31.7 per cent from a year earlier. For the January-August period, total trade climbed to a record USD 770.14 billion, an increase of 28.7 per cent compared with the same period in 2025.
The figure was nearly USD 172 billion higher than the USD 598.25 billion recorded during the first eight months of last year.
Exports reached USD 374.84 billion, up 22.4 per cent year-on-year. Foreign-invested enterprises remained the main driver of export growth, generating USD 300.37 billion in export revenue, up 26.9 per cent and accounting for more than 80 per cent of total exports.
Domestic firms exported goods worth USD 74.47 billion, an increase of 7.4 per cent, representing nearly 20 per cent of total export value.
Manufactured products continued to dominate Vietnam's export structure, contributing nearly USD 338 billion, or more than 90 per cent of total exports.
Electronics, computers and components became the country's largest export category, generating more than USD 101 billion, up 51.1 per cent. Machinery, equipment and spare parts brought in more than USD 47 billion, while phones and components generated nearly USD 45.6 billion.
The United States remained Vietnam's largest export market, with exports reaching USD 122 billion. Vietnam's trade surplus with the US stood at approximately USD 106.6 billion, up 22.7 per cent from a year earlier.
However, imports expanded even faster than exports.
During the first eight months, imports totalled USD 395.3 billion, up 35.3 per cent year-on-year. Foreign-invested enterprises imported more than USD 290 billion worth of goods, an increase of 40.1 per cent, while domestic firms imported more than USD 105 billion, up 23.7 per cent.
Production materials accounted for 94.1 per cent of total imports, with a combined value exceeding USD 372 billion. Machinery, equipment and spare parts represented 57.6 per cent of imports, while raw materials and fuels accounted for 36.5 per cent.
Electronics, computers and components were also the largest import category, reaching USD 161.63 billion, up 68.3 per cent.
China remained Vietnam's largest source of imports, with import turnover reaching USD 161.9 billion.
The faster pace of import growth significantly altered the country's trade balance. After eight months, Vietnam recorded a trade deficit of USD 20.46 billion, compared with a trade surplus of USD 14.02 billion during the same period last year.
The domestic economic sector posted a trade deficit of USD 30.6 billion, while the foreign-invested sector, including crude oil exports, maintained a trade surplus of USD 10.14 billion.