Viet Nam spent more than US$2 billion on importing cotton in the first eight months of 2018 – the biggest amount ever spent by the garment and textile sector.

Of the total, imports from the US exceeded $1 billion , according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

The increase in spending on cotton imports was attributed to growth in garment and textile exports, as Viet Nam depends on nearly 100 per cent imported cotton materials.

Viet Nam estimates it will buy more than $3 billion worth of cotton this year, up $700-800 million against the previous year.

The country has also set a target of earning $34-35 billion from garment and textile exports.

Last year, the textile and garment industry gained a year-on-year increase of 10.23 per cent in export value to $31 billion, beating its target set at the beginning of the year of $30 billion. — VNS