The ministry noted that foreign sales of textile garments and footwear have already met their annual targets, while those of cell phones, electronic products, machinery and parts could increase by 25 percent by the end of this year.

He also noted that the trade balance will show a slight surplus.

Among the drivers of foreign trade, the Ministry cited the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (which also includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru and Singapore) and the Free Trade Agreement with the European Union.

Negative factors include the dislocation of the international market and the difficulties of domestic companies due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

From January to October, Vietnamese exports amounted 267.93 billion dollars, a year-on-year increase of 16.6 percent, while imports were 269.38 billion dollars, resulting in a trade deficit of 1.45 billion dollars.

Last year, when the foreign trade of most countries fell, Vietnam’s trade reached 543.9 billion dollars, an inter-annual increase of 5.1%, with which the country ranked 22nd in the world in terms of turnover.

The United States is the largest buyer of Vietnamese goods and China the main supplier.

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