HÀ NỘI — Imports of materials for textiles, leather and footwear from Canada saw a tremendous growth of 179.8 per cent to hit US$11.8 million in the first four months of 2018, reported by the statistics of the General Department of Việt Nam Customs.

Only in April 2018, the import of these materials reached $497.05 million, bringing the total import value in four months to US$1.74 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 0.02 per cent.

Currently, there are five major suppliers of textiles, leather and footwear materials for Việt Nam, including China, Republic of Korea, Taiwan, the United States and Southeast Asia. The import from these countries combined is worth over US$100 million.

Between January and April 2018, China led the turnover with over $645.95 million, accounting for 37.2 per cent of Việt Nam’s total imports, down by 4.3 per cent against the same period last year.

Republic of Korea came second with nearly $226.16 million (accounting for 13 per cent, down by 5.1 per cent), followed by Taiwan with $148.11 million (8.5 per cent, down by 11.2 per cent), the United States with $118.83 million (6.8 per cent, up by 14 per cent) and Southeast Asia with $113.55 million (6.5 per cent, up by 14.2 per cent).

Notably, the import of textiles, leather and footwear materials from many markets particularly from  Canada increased significantly against the same period last year.

Conversely, imports fell sharply from markets such as Argentina, down by 51 per cent to $7.68 million; NewZealand, down by 50.3 per cent to $4.23 million; France, down by 41.6 per cent to $1.3 million; Austria, down by 32.8 per cent to $0.44 million and Germany, down by 31.4 per cent to $8.44 million. — VNS