AsemconnectVietnam - In April of 2026, Vietnam's imports of chemicals and chemical products reached US$1.80 billion, a 7.40% increase compared to the previous month and a sharp 31.25% increase compared to the same period in 2025.

For the first four months of 2026, the imports totaled US$6.01 billion, a 19.08% increase compared to the same period last year. This increase reflects the continued strong recovery in demand for raw materials for domestic industrial production, especially in the electronics, plastics, textiles, rubber, battery-energy, and industrial chemical sectors.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) enterprises continued to dominate Vietnam's chemical imports. In April of 2026, FDI enterprises imported US$1.14 billion worth of chemicals and chemical products, accounting for 63.64% of the total import value of the entire sector. Overall, in the first four months of the year, this sector's import turnover reached US$3.88 billion, a sharp increase of 36.73% compared to the same period last year, raising its share to 64.55%, significantly higher than the 56.22% of the same period in 2025.
This development showed that FDI enterprises, especially in the electronics, semiconductor, petrochemical, battery, and high-tech materials sectors, are continuing to expand production in Vietnam, leading to a large demand for imported basic chemicals, specialty chemicals, and intermediate raw materials.
China continued to be the largest supplier of chemicals to Vietnam, with import turnover reaching US$2.74 billion in the first four months of 2026, a sharp increase of 27.12% compared to the same period last year and accounting for 45.54% of the total import turnover of the entire industry. In April of 2026 alone, the imports from China reached US$892.19 million, a 20.64% increase compared to the previous month and a 50.68% increase compared to the same period last year.
The sharp increase in imports from China reflects the trend of Vietnamese businesses continuing to take advantage of the favorable prices, scale of production, and stable supply from this market. At the same time, the recovery of the domestic electronics, mechanical, plastics, and renewable energy industries is also increasing the demand for intermediate chemicals and industrial raw materials imported from China.
The total chemical imports from ASEAN reached US$802.75 million in the first four months of the year, a 7.86% increase compared to the same period last year, but the share decreased from 14.76% to 13.37%. Malaysia was the most prominent market with a turnover of US$317.64 million, a sharp increase of 37.53%, mainly due to demand for imported petrochemicals and plastic raw materials. Conversely, the imports from Singapore decreased sharply by 21.18%, while the imorts from Indonesia remained almost unchanged and the imports from Thailand only increased slightly by 3.12%.
South Korea and Japan continued to be two important sources of chemicals for Vietnam. In the first four months of 2016, imports from South Korea reached US$510.74 million, an increase of 20.14%, while imports from Japan reached US$449.20 million, an increase of 19.48%. These were mainly high-tech chemicals serving the electronics, semiconductor, battery, and precision industrial manufacturing industries.
Taiwan also recorded positive growth with a turnover of US$445.35 million, an increase of 18.97% compared to the same period last year. This indicates that the demand for imported chemical raw materials for the production of plastics, electronic components, and industrial chemicals remains high.
For the US market, chemical imports reached $369.58 million in the first four months of the year, a sharp increase of 35.79%. This is one of the highest increases among major markets, reflecting the increased demand for specialty chemicals, pharmaceuticals, industrial additives, and high-tech materials from the US.
Conversely, the imports from the EU are trending downwards. In the first four months of 2026, chemical imports from the EU reached $312.02 million, a decrease of 5.87% compared to the same period last year, and the share decreased from 6.57% to 5.20%. Some markets experienced significant declines, such as Germany (down 16.51%), the Netherlands (down 4.81%), and Finland (down 7.70%). The main reason was that industrial chemical prices in Europe remain high due to rising energy and environmental costs, leading Vietnamese businesses to shift towards importing from more competitive Asian markets.
Besides traditional markets, several smaller markets recorded notable growth, such as Canada (up 80.92%), Hong Kong (up 53.96%), South Africa (up 52.13%), and Australia (up 26.15%). This indicates that Vietnamese businesses are gradually diversifying their chemical raw material supply sources to reduce the risk of dependence on a few large markets.
Despite this positive growth trend, Vietnam's chemical import activities still face many risks. Fluctuations in global oil and petrochemical prices continue to impact import prices. Furthermore, trade tensions, logistical risks, and the tightening of environmental standards in many countries could increase import costs in the future.
CK
Source: VITIC