Between 2015 and 2025, bilateral trade turnover between Viet Nam and Malaysia recorded an average annual growth rate of 8.52%. In 2025, the two-way trade reached USD 16.33 billion, raising expectations that the figure would climb to approximately USD 18 billion in 2026.

However, bilateral trade had already reached USD 17.4 billion by the end of the third quarter of 2026, surpassing the total recorded for the whole of 2025. This performance suggests that trade turnover in 2026 will exceed the anticipated USD 18 billion. The positive development comes as the two countries' senior leaders place high expectations on the continued advancement of bilateral relations, including trade, with the goal of raising the two-way trade to USD 20 billion in the near future and moving toward USD 25 billion in the coming years.

According to the latest preliminary data from the Customs Department, Viet Nam's exports to Malaysia reached USD 5.675 billion in the first nine months of 2026, up 46.4% from the same period in 2025 and exceeding the USD 5.327 billion recorded for the whole of last year. Meanwhile, imports from Malaysia amounted to USD 11.720 billion, an increase of 43.2% year-on-year, also surpassing the full-year 2025 figure of USD 11.004 billion. Total bilateral trade turnover reached USD 17.397 billion by the end of the third quarter, representing a 44.2% increase compared with the corresponding period in 2025. These figures indicate that Viet Nam-Malaysia trade in 2026 is likely to far exceed the initial expectation of USD 18 billion.

Nevertheless, Viet Nam's trade deficit with Malaysia has also widened considerably. While the deficit stood at USD 4.307 billion in the first nine months of 2025 and USD 5.676 billion for the whole year, it had already reached USD 6.045 billion in the first nine months of 2026, exceeding the full-year 2025 level.

On the export front, 30 product categories recorded increases in export turnover during the first nine months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. Several categories posted particularly impressive growth, including computers, electronic products and components, up 170.01%; chemical products, 81.93%; rubber, 71.96%; machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts, 55.38%; fertilizers, 51.51%; fruits and vegetables, 31.45%; and seafood, 17.6%.

Notably, over the previous three years, no individual Vietnamese export category had reached the USD 1 billion mark in the Malaysian market, while only two categories had recorded export turnover of more than USD 500 million but less than USD 1 billion. However, by the end of the third quarter of 2026, computers, electronic products and components became the first Vietnamese export category to surpass USD 1 billion in the Malaysian market, with turnover reaching USD 1.775 billion. Meanwhile, exports of machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts amounted to USD 577.673 million.

Other export categories exceeding USD 100 million in the first nine months of 2026 included seafood at USD 111.4 million, coffee at USD 128.7 million, rice at USD 149.7 million, chemical products at USD 119.1 million, wood and wood products at USD 136.4 million, textiles and garments at USD 144.1 million, phones and components at USD 352.3 million, iron and steel products at USD 356.3 million, and transport vehicles and spare parts at USD 163.8 million.

However, several export categories registered declines compared with the same period last year. Coffee exports fell by 26%, rice by 13.9%, chemicals by 19.9%, transport vehicles and spare parts by 21%, and petroleum products by 22.2%.

On the import front, several categories posted substantial increases in turnover during the first nine months of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier. Imports of animal and vegetable fats and oils rose by 52.4% to USD 442.6 million, while petroleum products surged by 114.56% to nearly USD 1.8 billion. Chemical imports increased by 58.85% to USD 579.4 million; computers, electronic products and components by 48.95% to USD 4.43 billion; and machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts by 75.5% to USD 1.2 billion.

Meanwhile, several import categories recorded declines over the same period. Imports of liquefied gas fell by 10.36%, fertilizers by 54.86%, glass and glass products by 56.2%, iron and steel products by 27.8%, and base metals by 20.8%.