Vietnamese experts recently called for enhancing domestic production capacity and raising the localisation rate to gradually reduce dependence on imports, thereby allowing exports to substantially contribute to economic growth.
The call comes as Vietnam reported a trade deficit in H1 2026 after many consecutive years of trade surplus.
The country still primarily handles processing and assembly stages.
Total foreign trade turnover in the first six months this year rose by more than 27 per cent year on year (YoY) to nearly $550 billion, of which exports increased by about 21 per cent, and imports increased by 33.4 per cent. Therefore, the trade deficit in the first six months of the year was $16.65 billion.
According to Nguyen Anh Son, director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)’s import-export department, a noteworthy point is that the majority of import turnover (88 per cent) was still concentrated in machinery, equipment, raw materials and components for production rather than consumer goods.
This shows that businesses have been proactively expanding their production capacity and preparing resources for upcoming orders, thereby creating room for exports to continue to surge in the final months of the year, he was cited as saying by a domestic media outlet.
However, as the rate of increase in input imports is faster than that of exports reflects the reality that, despite its deep involvement in the global supply chain, the country still primarily handles processing and assembly stages, while many core components, materials, and technologies remain dependent on imports.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
