According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in the field of import and export, international trade activities continue to record positive signals. Total import and export turnover in the first two months of 2026 is estimated at 155.7 billion USD, an increase of 22.2% compared to the same period last year. Of which, export turnover reached about 76.4 billion USD, an increase of 18.3%, higher than the export growth target of 15-16% that the Government assigned to the Industry and Trade sector in 2026.
Mr. Bui Huy Son - Director of the Department of Planning, Finance and Enterprise Management (Ministry of Industry and Trade) - assessed that the above results show that export activities continue to maintain growth momentum in the context of a still volatile international economy.
In the opposite direction, import turnover is estimated at 79.3 billion USD, an increase of 26.3%, causing the trade balance in the first two months of the year to temporarily be in deficit of about 2.9 billion USD.
This is a cyclical development and often appears in the first months of the year when businesses focus on importing raw materials, machinery and equipment to serve the production plan for the whole year" - Mr. Bui Huy Son analyzed.
Assessing the export results in the first two months of the year, Mr. Vu Ba Phu - Director of the Trade Promotion Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) - said that there have been positive and noteworthy results. However, according to Mr. Vu Ba Phu, when analyzed in depth by market region, the growth picture shows a fairly clear differentiation.
Many markets recorded high growth of over 10%, including large markets such as the United States, Mexico, Canada, Chile, Argentina and Colombia. In Asia, some markets also maintained good growth such as China, India, Thailand, Malaysia and South Korea. Meanwhile, in Europe, many markets such as Poland, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Netherlands, Latvia and Slovenia also recorded positive growth. Notably, some markets in the Middle East and Africa such as UAE, Saudi Arabia, Ghana and Kenya also had high growth, opening up great room for export activities of Vietnamese businesses" - Mr. Phu said.
However, besides the markets with positive growth, some other markets recorded low or decreased growth. Among them, there are familiar markets for Vietnamese businesses such as Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nigeria or Australia.
Carefully analyzing the causes in these markets is very necessary to find appropriate solutions to restore and expand market share for Vietnamese goods. To maintain and promote export growth in the coming time, the Trade Promotion Agency believes that it is necessary to continue to promote the role of trade promotion activities in key markets" - Mr. Phu emphasized.
Among export promotion solutions, the Director of the Trade Promotion Agency said that maintaining the presence of Vietnamese businesses at major specialized trade fairs and exhibitions around the world continues to be considered an important trade promotion channel. In addition to strengthening traditional markets, the search for new growth drivers for exports also needs to be focused on, especially through the development of new industries and expanding consumption markets.
Proactively discovering market opportunities, diversifying export products and strengthening trade connections will contribute to creating more room for growth for exports in the coming time. In particular, with close coordination between management agencies, the trading system and the business community, trade promotion activities are expected to continue to make important contributions to expanding export markets, thereby supporting the implementation of the export growth target for 2026" - Mr. Phu said.
