Import value of many items increased sharply over the same period in 2020, of which automobiles increased by 78.4%; common metals increased by 61.2%; plastics by 54.9%; electronics, computers and components increased by 22.1%; phones and components increased by 48.7%; iron and steel by 40.8%; other machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts increased by 37.3%; chemical products by 34.5%; raw materials for textile, garment and footwear increased by 34.2%; fabric increased by 32.2%; electronics, computers and components by 22.9%; plastic products increased by 22%.

One of the reasons for the sharp increase in the import value of items is that the import price index in the first 6 months of 2021 increased by 2.24% over the same period last year (in the second quarter of 2021, it increased by 3.28%). . In which, import prices of some important products for processing and production increased: other common metals increased by 12.8%; iron and steel increased by 7.65%; fabric increased by 1.65%; electronics, computers and components by 1.62%; machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts increased by 0.56%.

Import and export turnover in June and 6 months of 2015 - 2021

Billion USD

Import turnover in 6 months grew higher than export turnover (import increased by 36.1%; exports increased by 28.4%) brought the trade balance in the first 6 months of the year to a trade deficit of 1.47 billion USD (in the first 6 months of the year). when, in the same period in 2020, the trade surplus was 5.86 billion USD). However, considering the structure of imports, the proportion of means of production accounted for 93.9% of the total turnover, increasing by 0.4 percentage points over the same period last year; import of means of production reached USD 149.32 billion, up 36.7%; in which, the group of machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts reached USD 71.97 billion, up 33% and accounting for 45.2% (down 1 percentage point); raw materials, fuels and materials reached USD 77.35 billion, up 40.2% and accounting for 48.6% (up 1.4 percentage points). The consumer goods group was estimated at US$ 9.78 billion, up 28% and accounting for 6.1% (down 0.4 percentage points). Import of capital goods has a high growth rate, especially the group of goods for production, which is the group of raw materials and fuel, increased by 40.2% (the proportion increased by 1.4 percentage points), showing that signs of production recovery have made good progress and are positive.

However, if there is no solution to limit the trade deficit, the long-term trade deficit and especially the trade deficit of consumer goods will partly cause negative impacts in the economy. The high import of consumer goods, especially luxury consumer goods, will reduce the competitiveness of domestic goods, causing difficulties for domestic production activities.

Vietnam's economic forecast for the last 6 months of 2021 will continue to face many difficulties, the effective implementation of the "dual goals" is a big challenge, requiring the joint effort and consensus of the Government, businesses and people. people, focusing on a number of contents related to import and export activities as follows: Protecting the health of workers in enterprises and industrial parks; continue to focus on removing difficulties for production and business enterprises, recovering the economy, supporting the business community in finding markets to import raw materials, fuel, materials, spare parts and replacement components; control and take timely measures to ensure the supply and prices of imported raw materials, fuels and input materials for domestic production; using appropriate tax policies in favor of importing raw materials and exporting finished products; effectively carry out trade promotion activities, promote products and categories, seek to expand export markets.