A significant drop in export orders has seen the import-export turnover of FDI enterprises in the first two months of the year decline to only US$68.2 billion, down US$9.15 billion over the same period from last year, according to the latest statistics released by the General Department of Customs.

Regarding export results in the second half of February, the total import and export value reached US$23.16 billion, marking a drop of 10.3%, equivalent to US$2.66 billion, compared to the actual result in the first half of the same month.

Accumulated over the first two months of the year, the country’s total import-export turnover hit US$95.83 billion, a fall of 13.4% on-year, or US$14.83 billion.

Of the figure, the total import-export turnover of FDI enterprises over the past two months reached US$68.2 billion, down by 11.8% and equivalent to US$9.15 billion, while import-export turnover of domestic enterprises stood at US$27.62 billion, down 17.1% on-year to US$5.68 billion.

Total export turnover of FDI enterprises during the reviewed period hit US$37.34 billion, a decrease of 7.3% and equivalent to US$2.93 billion compared to same period from last year, accounting for 75.2% total national export turnover.

The import turnover of FDI enterprises in the second period in February stood at US$7.02 billion, down 14.3% to US$1.17 billion compared to the first period.

According to information given by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the United States and EU economies, which are the nation’s major trading markets, only grew below 1% and did not exclude the possibility of a recession.

The recovery of emerging and developing economies is more difficult while growth slows, a factor which reduces the demand for goods and impacts the production and exports of countries, including Vietnam.

Export of agricultural and aquatic products in the two-month period only reached US$3.88 billion, a drop of US$ 688 million over the same period from last year. In line with this, seafood exports decreased by 32.9%, or US$494 million, to only US$1 billion.

The group of processed industrial goods was estimated to have dropped by 9.8%, of which, computers, electronic products, and components stood at US$6.87 billion, a fall of 13.9%. Elsewhere, machinery, equipment, tools, and spare parts were at US$6.4 billion, a drop of 1.6%; textiles and garments were at US$4.55 billion, down 19.6%; footwear of all kinds were at US$2.76 billion, down 15.8%; and wood and timber products fell by 34.8%.

Moving forward, it is anticipated that orders will be difficult at least until the middle of the year, with the Ministry of Industry and Trade supporting businesses and promoting diversification of markets and industries in order to reduce dependence on traditional markets.

This is along with developing markets in Northern Europe, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, all of which are small but have high growth rates and still have plenty of room for exploitation.

Businesses must therefore strive to take advantage of the rapid recovery of markets in the ASEAN region and some Asian nations in order to boost exports.

Moreover, Vietnam Trade Offices based in foreign markets must provide up-to-date information on fluctuations and trends of major import and export markets, along with assessments of opportunities and challenges for businesses to devise suitable adaptation plans.

VOV