HANOI, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam spent nearly 5.7 billion U.S. dollars importing 8.4 million tons of steel and iron between January and July, down 2.4 percent in value but up 4.5 percent in volume against the same period last year.
In July alone, the country imported nearly 1.3 million tons of the products worth 848 million U.S. dollars, up 6.7 percent in volume but down 3.9 percent in value against July 2018, the Vietnam Steel Association said on Friday.
The Vietnamese steel sector annually imports 90-95 percent of materials for production, including iron ores, metal scraps, and coke fuel, mainly from China, South Korea and Japan, the association said.
In 2018, Vietnam poured nearly 9.9 billion U.S. dollars into importing roughly 13.6 million tons of steel and iron, down 9.6 percent in volume but up 9 percent in value against 2017.
Meanwhile, the country reaped 4.6 billion U.S. dollars from exporting 6.3 million tons of the products, seeing respective surges of 44.8 percent and 33.5 percent, according to its General Statistics Office.
