Export turnover in Vietnam hit almost $33.6 billion in January, a 42% rise year-on-year, the highest since April 2022, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The country’s exports were predominantly boosted by agriculture-forestry-aquaculture as well as the processing industry, whose revenues increased by 97% and 38%, respectively.

Last month, around $6 billion worth of mobile phones and accessories were exported, an increase of more than 56% from the month before.

In addition, agriculture exports rose due to a hike in prices. Indeed, coffee was selling for $2,955 a ton, a rise of more than 35% year-on-year, whilst rice was up 33.5%, according to the trade ministry’s figures.

Vietnam’s largest export market continued to be the US, purchasing $9.6 billion, or almost 56% more than in January 2023, VN Express International reports.

Meanwhile, revenues from other traditional markets, such as China, rose by 58%, the European Union by 18%, and ASEAN by 38%.

Furthermore, Vietnam’s imports exceeded $30.6 billion, with the majority of production to cater to demand during the Lunar New Year, the trade ministry went on to add.

As such, Vietnam registered a trade surplus of $2.9 billion last month, with total trade turnover increasing nearly 38% year-on-year to over $64 billion.

Although foreign direct investment businesses recorded a trade surplus of over $5 billion, businesses in Vietnam registered more than a $2 billion trade deficit.

The country’s largest import market was China, selling goods worth close to $11 billion, or 50% more than at the same time in 2023.

Moreover, the trade ministry predicts exports will continue to face headwinds in 2024 as a result of strategic competition between major economies and mounting Red Sea tensions driving up shipping prices.