Vietnam Sees Trade Surplus for the First time Post Economic Recovery

Driven by strong exports and extensive foreign investment inflows, Vietnam's GDP rose 7.09 percent last year to $476.3 billion, faster than the 5.05 percent expansion in 2023. In 2024, imports grew 16.7 percent to $380.76 billion, creating a $24.77 billion trade surplus. As stated by the sources.

The General Statistics Office said that the fourth quarter's GDP growth of 7.55% was the strongest quarterly gain in over two years.Despite being relentlessly damaged by Asia's biggest typhoon last year, the Southeast Asian nation, which serves as a regional center for manufacturing, has profited from a recover in global spending.

The government's decision to increase coal imports for power generation in order to prevent a recurrence of the previous years' electricity shortages also contributed to the robust growth rebound in 2024.

While electricity production increased 9.6% to 293.3 billion kilowatt hours in 2024, coal imports increased 24.8% to 63.8 million metric tons. Inflows of foreign capital into Vietnam reached $25.35 billion last year, a 9.4% increase.

While industrial production output increased 8.4% in 2024, average consumer prices increased 3.63 percent. Vietnam's confirmed GDP growth goal for this year is between 6.5% and 7.0%. Last month, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh declared that Vietnam would strive for an 8.0% growth rate.

"Looking forward, Vietnam will actively monitor monetary policies, stabilise exchange rates, and monitor closely big trade partners to have timely policies," Huong said.