88.8% of import turnover are equipment and raw materials for production

	Over 36% of Vietnam’s import turnover comes from China
	The whole country spends over US$147 billion to import goods

Production line at Tetra Pak Binh Duong factory, Vietnam. Illustration

Assessing the situation of importing goods, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that in June 2024, it is estimated to reach US $30.15 billion, down 7.9% compared to the previous month, compared to the same period last year, the import turnover of goods June goods increased by 13.1%.

In the first six months of 2024, import turnover of goods is estimated to reach US $178.45 billion, up 17% over the same period last year, of which the domestic economic sector reached US $ 65.74 billion, up 22,3% over the same period last year; The foreign investment sector reached US $112.71 billion, an increase of 14.1%.

Of these, there are 33 imported items worth over US $1 billion, accounting for 88.1% of total import turnover (five imported items worth over US $5 billion, accounting for 50.2%).

Our country's import structure in the first six months of the year shows a positive signal when up to 88.8% of the total import turnover is the group of goods that need to be imported, including: machinery and equipment, tools, spare parts and raw materials for domestic production, with an estimated turnover of US $158.2 billion, an increase of 18.1% over the same period in 2023.

"The above results show signs of positive recovery of production and exports when the demand for importing machinery, equipment, tools, spare parts and raw materials for production increased quite high," the report stated.

Of which, the import turnover of computers, electronic products and components alone is estimated at US $48.8 billion, an increase of 26.7% over the same period in 2023 and accounting for 27.4% of the total import turnover of the whole country; At the same time, imports of machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts reached US $ 22.3 billion, an increase of 14.6%.

In addition, import turnover of most other products also recorded a high double-digit increase such as: phones of all kinds and components increased by 21.9%; Steel of all kinds increased by 24%; electric wires and cables increased by 30%; Plastic raw materials increased by 14.7%; Raw materials for textiles, garments and footwear increased by 17.5%; Fabrics of all kinds increased by 10.8%...

Import turnover of goods groups requiring import restrictions in the first six months of the year increased slightly over the same period last year, estimated at US $9.5 billion, up 2.1%. However, some products had high import turnover such as: household electrical appliances and components, up 19.2%; vegetables and fruits increased by 13.7%.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, due to the strong recovery of production and export, the demand for imported machinery, equipment and raw materials for domestic production has increased, so our country's imports in the first half of 2024 will range from most major markets increased.

In particular, China continues to be our country's largest import market with an estimated turnover of US $67 billion, up 34.7% over the same period last year and accounting for nearly 37.6% of total import turnover in the country; Next is imports from the Korean market estimated at US $26.2 billion, up 7.4%; ASEAN market area is estimated at US$ 22.56 billion, up 12.3%; Japan is estimated to reach US $10.39 billion, up 1.7%; EU is estimated to reach US $ 7.5 billion, up 5.2%; The United States is estimated to reach US $7.06 billion, an increase of 2.8%.