March 10, 2010

Vietnamese import from US increases sharply in January

Vietnam spent US$273.52 million on US imports in January this year, up 153.7% year-on-year, said the information centre of Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade on Tuesday (March 9).

Machines, components and spare parts topped the Vietnam's import items from the US market in the first month of 2010. Vietnam's import turnover of this commodity reached roughly US$60 million, a surge of 126.47% over the same period last year.

Animal feed ranked second with import value of US$27 million during this period, followed by animal fats and vegetable oils with turnover standing at US$20.7 million, said the centre.

Vietnam saw a year-on-year increase in turnover of most import items from the US last January including milk products and pharmaceuticals.

However, Vietnamese importers reduced their spending on purchasing US products such as seafood and wheat during this period, said the centre.

Last year, Vietnam paid US$2.8 billion for buying goods from the US, up 9.1% year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam.