Major imported commodity groups in September 2018

	Major imported commodity groups in January of 2018
	Major imported commodity groups in the first quarter of 2017
	Major imported commodity groups in January, 2017

10 imported commodity groups reached the highest increase in value in September, 2018.

Major imported commodities were: computers, electronic products and components up by US$ 3.52 billion, common metals up by US$ 1.36 billion, petroleum up by US$ 1.2 billion, crude oil up by US$ 1.15 billion, plastic materials up by more than US$ 1 billion, etc., compared to the same period last year.

Computers, electronic products and components: The import turnover in September was US$ 3.54 billion, down by 11.6% over August, bringing the import turnover of this group in the nine months of 2018 to US$ 30.8 billion (the highest level in nine months to date) up by 12.9% over the same period last year. With this import scale, computers, electronic products & components have remained in leading position since 2017.

The export markets for this group to Vietnam in the past nine months were mainly: South Korean market with a turnover of US$ 12.76 billion, up 13.6% over the previous year, accounting for 41.4% of the country’s total import turnover of this group; followed by Chinese market with a turnover of US$ 5.48 billion, up 7.8%; and Japanese market with a turnover of US$ 2.94 billion, up 34.5%, etc.

Machinery, equipment, tools and parts thereof: the import value in September of 2018 reached US$ 2.77 billion, down 3.8% over the previous month. Accordingly, bringing the import turnover of this group in the first nine months of 2018 to US$ 24.58 billion, down by 3.7% over the same period in 2017.

In the first three quarters of 2018, machinery, equipment, tools and parts thereof originating from South Korea, China and Japan accounted for 67.1% of the country's import value. Specifically, imports from the Chinese market reached US$ 8.65 billion, up 5.7%; from South Korea reached US$ 4.6 billion, down 33.5% and from Japan reached US$ 3.26 billion, up slightly 1.8% ...

Telephones and accessories: the import value in September was US$ 1.71 billion, down 10.2% over the previous month. By the end of September, 2018, the import value of this group reached nearly US$ 11 billion, a slight increase of 1.1% over the same period of 2017.

South Korea and China were the two major export markets for telephones and accessories to Vietnam in the nine months of 2018, accounting for 93.2% of the country's total import value. In which, from China was US$ 6.09 billion, a year-over-year increase of 7.5%; from South Korea was US$ 4.16 billion, a slight increase of 0.1% over the same period last year.

Plastic materials and plastic products: In September of 2018, the import value of plastic materials and plastic products totalled US$ 1.23 billion, down 5.4% from the previous month. As a result, bringing the total import value of this group in the nine months to US$ 10.93 billion, a year-over-year increase of 14.6%.

Vietnam mainly imported plastic materials and plastic products from South Korea with a value of US$ 2.52 billion, up 9.9%; from China with a value of US$ 2.32 billion, up 13.4%; and from Taiwan with a value of US$1.14 billion, up 19.7%, etc., compared to the nine months of 2017.

Fabrics: the imports of this group in September 2018 collected more than US$ 1 billion, up 1.1% over the previous month, bringing the import value of this group in the nine months of 2018 to US$ 9.41 billion, up 13.8% over the same period last year.

Vietnam imported fabrics in the nine months of 2018 were mainly from China with US$ 5.2 billion, up 18.4% over the same period last year; South Korea with US$ 1.6 billion, up 7.3%; from Taiwan with US$ 1.2 billion, up 2.5%; and from Japan with US$ 539 million, up 14%.

Iron and steel of all kinds: the import turnover in September 2018 was worth US$ 788 million, down 15.4% in volume and 12.9% in value. In the nine months of 2018, the imports of iron and steel reached 10.34 million tons, worth US$ 7.51 billion, down 10% in volume but up 11.5% in value over the same period in 2017.

In the nine months of 2018, China continued to be the largest export market for iron and steel to Vietnam with more than 4.8 million tons, worth US$ 3.46 billion, down by 14.7% in volume but up 9.1% in value over the same period last year. Followed by Japan with 1.67 million tons, worth US$ 1.18 billion, down by 0.8 % in volume and 15.6 % in value; and South Korea ranked third with 1.31 million tons, worth US$ 1.08 billion, up 4.4% in volume and up 21.4% in value.

Chemicals and chemical products: the import turnover in September 2018 was US$ 798 million, down 11.4% from the previous month, bringing the import value of this group in the nine months of 2018 to US$ 7.44 billion, up 17.8% over the same period last year.

Chemicals and chemical products in the nine months of 2018 were mainly imported from China with US$ 2.16 billion, a year-over-year increase of 21.4%; from Taiwan with US$ 863 million, up 27.1%; and from South Korea with US$ 810 million, up 11.9%, etc.

Petroleum of all kinds: In September, 2018, Vietnam imported nearly 700,000 tons of petroleum of all kinds, valued at US$ 502 million, down by 9.8% in volume and 4.3% in value, bringing the imports for the nine months of the year to 9.3 million tons, worth US$ 6.3 billion, down 2.1 % in volume but up 24.2 % in value over the same period last year.

Export markets for petroleum to Vietnam in the nine months of 2018 were mainly: Malaysia with 2.67 million tons, up 36.4%; South Korea with 2.33 million tons, up 7.4%; and Singapore with 2.08 million tons, down 40.4% over the same period last year.

Export turnover of 10 major export commodity groups reached over US$ 74 billion

Raw materials for textiles, garment and leather and footwear: the imports in September 2018 reached US$ 471 million, up 1.7 % from the previous month, bringing the import value in the first nine months to US$ 4.27 billion, up 4.5% over the same period last year.

In the nine months of 2018, Vietnam imported this group mainly from China with US$ 1.62 billion, an increase of 6.1%; from South Korea with US$ 580 million, a slight increase of 1.4%; from Taiwan with US$ 339 million, a decrease of 10.2% over the same period in 2017.