Vietnam imported US$7.32 billion worth of products from Japan during the first five months of this year, a year-on-year rise of 15.1%, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

The country bought a wide range of products from the Japanese market, mainly machinery, industrial products and materials.

Machinery, equipment and tools accounted for the highest value of imported items at nearly US$1.8 billion, up 3.1% against the same period last year, and making up 24.5% of the total imports. They were followed by computers, electronics and components with US$1.49 billion (up 30.8%), steel with US$630.35 million (up 9.8%) and plastic products with US$332.34 million (up 10.5%).

On the other end of the scale, Vietnam reduced its imports of some products such as Complete Built-Up (CBU) automobiles (down 69.6% to US$17.18 million), animal feed and materials (down 48.6% to US$1.18 million), means of transport and spare parts (down 29.5% to US$71.76 million) and electric household appliances and components (down 26% to US$6.43 million).