2026.02.0602:06:39UTC+00Vietnam Posts Largest Trade Gap in Nearly 4 Years

In January 2026, Vietnam reported a trade deficit of USD 1.78 billion, a significant shift from a USD 3.1 billion surplus observed in the same month of 2024. This marks the second consecutive month of trade deficit and is the largest since February 2022, largely due to exports increasing at a slower rate than imports. Specifically, exports saw a 29.7% increase year-on-year, totaling USD 43.19 billion, whereas imports experienced a more substantial rise of 49.2%, amounting to USD 44.97 billion. Within the same period, exports of processed industrial goods reached USD 38.43 billion, making up 89.0% of total exports. Meanwhile, imports of production materials amounted to USD 42.3 billion, comprising 94.0% of total imports. The United States was Vietnam’s leading export destination, with trade at USD 13.9 billion, while China remained the largest source of imports, with transactions worth USD 19.0 billion. In the previous year, Vietnam achieved a trade surplus of USD 20.03 billion, with exports and imports increasing by 17.0% and 19.4%, respectively.