Vietnam's export down in first five months of 2020

Vietnam's export and import turnovers in the first five months of 2020 decreased by 1.7 per cent and 3.8 per cent year-on-year respectively, the country's General Statistics Office said Friday.

Export turnovers totaled nearly 99.4 billion US dollars and import turnovers was roughly 97.5 billion US dollars during the five-month period, reports Xinhua.

Between January and May, the United States remained Vietnam's biggest importer with turnovers of $24.6 billion, followed by China with $16.3 billion and the European Union with $12.9 billion, according to the office.

Meanwhile, China was Vietnam's largest exporter with turnovers of $28.9 billion, followed by South Korea with $17.3 billion, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations with $11.8 billion, the office said.

In 2019, Vietnam's total trade turnover reached nearly $517 billion with an export turnover of approximately $263.5 billion, up 8.1 per cent against 2018.

The country posted a trade surplus of more than $9.9 billion, the highest level in the past four years.