According to Director of the Trade Department of GSO Le Thi Minh Thuy, the higher import value recorded in January this year may continue in the next few months because several construction projects lined up for 2015 will require the importing of machines, facilities and spare parts.
"Moreover, businesses will have many opportunities to integrate into the world market this year and expand their export and import bases," said Thuy.
However, she also expressed her concerns over Viet Nam's dependence on import's from foreign countries. In January, the country's imports from China were $2.8 billion higher than its exports, which was 6 times, or $500 million, higher than the trade plus turnover of the entire country. Nearly all goods imported from China were for production in domestic businesses.