Laos records trade surplus for four consecutive years

Laos has been registering a trade surplus for four consecutive years, the trade surplus in 2022 was US$1.39 billion.
The total two-way trade between Laos and foreign countries for 2022 stood at US$15 billion, with exports valued at US$8.19 billion and the value of imports recorded at US$6.8 billion, according to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

Laos records the trade surplus of US$1.39 billion in 2022.

The trade surplus was boosted by electricity exports to neighbouring countries and mining, according to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
Thailand was the largest export market for Laos in 2022, with a value of US$2.94 billion. This was followed by China (US$1.64 billion), Vietnam (US$1.35 billion), Australia (US$395 million) and Cambodia (US$185 million).
Thailand remained the largest source for imports too, with a total value of US$3.37 billion, followed by China (US$1.64 billion) and Vietnam (US$423 million), according to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
For years, Laos has been recording a trade deficit with Thailand even as the land-locked country imports a lot of things ranging from agricultural equipment to food items and other household goods.
Electricity represented the largest share of Laos’ total exports in 2022, with a value of US$ 2.35 billion, followed by mining, including gold, rubber, coffee, cassava, garments and other agricultural products.
Meanwhile, the main imported products for Laos included fuel, vehicles and spare parts, machinery, steel, plastic and so on.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Laos enjoyed a trade surplus of US$145 million recorded in 2019, US$848 million (2020), US$1,740 (2021), according to the latest report from the Macro-economic Research Institute of the Lao Academy of Social and Economic Sciences (LASES).
Lao researchers say although Laos recorded a trade surplus in the past years, the country still exports a considerable volume of raw materials which need to be processed for export.
Attracting investments into manufacturing raw materials is essential to adding value to Lao products and boosting the country’s exports.
Researchers also recommended that it’s critical to create favourable conditions for entrepreneurs to bring all foreign currencies into Laos earned from exports, not depositing offshore. The move will enable the government to stabilise exchange rates and maintain the value of local currency.
In the first two months of this year, the total two-way trade between Laos and other countries stood at US$1.89 billion with the exports valued at US$978 million and imports of US$918 million and the surplus was US$61 million.
In April alone, Laos registered a trade deficit of US$17 million, according to figures from the Lao Trade Portal of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
The trade imbalance means concerned sectors need to do more to attract investment capital into the export sector based on the potentials offered in the country.

By Somsack Pongkhao
 (Latest Update May 19, 2023)