Import and export activities across Kim Thanh International Road Border Gate No. II, Lao Cai. Photo: T.Binh

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in the first eight months of 2024, the preliminary import turnover of goods increased by 17.7% year-on-year to US$246.02 billion, including the turnover of the domestic economic sector at US$ 89.58 billion, up 19.7%; the foreign-invested sector at US$ 156.44 billion, up 16.5%.

In the first eight of 2024, 38 imported items saw the import turnover of over US$1 billion, accounting for 90.8% of total import turnover.

Notably, the preliminary import turnover of commodity groups that need to be imported, increased by 18.7% to US$218.9 billion year-on-year, accounting for about 89% of the total turnover in the first eight months of the year (including machinery, equipment, spare parts and raw materials for domestic production).

This is a positive signal for the economy when the domestic production and consumption, and the demand for importing raw materials, machinery and equipment for production has surged to serve new orders.

The import turnover of computers, electronic products and components alone is estimated at US$69.9 billion, up 26.9% over the same period in 2023, accounting for 28% of the total import turnover of the country; the import turnover of machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts reached US$31.2 billion, up 16.7%.

The import turnover of most other items recorded double-digit increase such as: phones and components up 23.7%; steel up 21.5%; electric wires and cables up 30.7%; plastic raw materials up 17%; textile and footwear raw materials up 16.2%; fabrics of all kinds up 13%...

Additionally, the import turnover of restricted import products in the first 8 months reached US$13.18 billion, up 8% year-on-year. Some items with high import turnover include: household electrical appliances and components up 19.5%; vegetables and fruits up 12.2%; and parts and components of 9-seater car up 11%.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, due to the strong recovery of production and export leading to high demand for imported machinery, equipment and raw materials for domestic production, the country's imports from most major markets grew in the first 8 months of the year.

China continues to be the country's largest import market with a preliminary turnover of US$99.29 billion, up 33.9% over the same period last year and accounting for 37.5% of the total import turnover of the whole country; followed by imports from the Korean market at US$36.9 billion, up 10.3%; the ASEAN market at US$30.27 billion, up 12.5%; Japan at US$14.37 billion, up 3.1%; the EU at US$ 10.8 billion, up 11.4%; US at 9.78 billion, up 6.9%.