HANOI, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam spent nearly 2.2 billion U.S. dollars importing chemicals and over 2.1 billion U.S. dollars importing chemical products in the first five months of this year, up 7.9 percent and 6.9 percent on-year, respectively.
Between January and May, China was Vietnam's biggest exporter of chemicals, followed by South Korea, Japan, Thailand and the United States, the General Department of Vietnam Customs said on Tuesday.
In the same period, the country exported 893 million U.S. dollars worth of chemicals and 512 million U.S. dollars worth of chemical products, posting respective rises of 40.3 percent and 21.5 percent.
Last year, Vietnam spent nearly 5.2 billion U.S. dollars importing chemicals, surging 25.2 percent, and roughly 5.1 billion U.S. dollars importing chemical products, up 9.8 percent on-year, said the department.