HCMC – Vietnam posted a trade surplus of US$3.6 billion in January, showed data of the General Statistics Office.

Exports amounted to over US$25 billion in the month, down 13.6% month-on-month and 21.3% year-on-year.

Imports were put at US$21.5 billion, down a steep 21.3% against December 2022 and 28.9% compared to the same period last year, with input materials accounting for 93%.

The U.S. remained the biggest importer of Vietnamese goods, with US$7.6 billion.

The index of industrial production of January 2023 was estimated to slump by 14.6% over the previous month and 8% versus the year-ago period. Of this, the manufacturing sector fell by 9.1%, resulting in a 7% decrease in overall growth; the mining industry shrank by 4.9%; electricity production and distribution dropped by 3.4%; and water supply, waste and wastewater management and treatment alone picked up 3.7%.