Vietnam's export and import turnovers in the first nine months of 2020 increased by 4.2 percent and decreased by 0.8 percent year-on-year respectively, according to the country's General Statistics Office on Tuesday.

Export revenues totaled nearly 202.9 billion U.S. dollars and import turnovers reached roughly 185.9 billion U.S. dollars during the period.

Between January and September, the United States remained Vietnam's biggest importer with turnovers of 54.8 billion U.S. dollars, followed by China with 31.9 billion U.S. dollars and the European Union with 26 billion U.S. dollars, according to the office.

Meanwhile, China was Vietnam's largest exporter with turnovers of 56.8 billion U.S. dollars, followed by South Korea with 32.8 billion U.S. dollars, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with 21.8 billion U.S. dollars, the office said.

In 2019, Vietnam's total trade turnover reached nearly 517 billion U.S. dollars with an export turnover of approximately 263.5 billion U.S. dollars, up 8.1 percent against 2018. The country posted a trade surplus of more than 9.9 billion U.S. dollars, the highest level in the past four years.