Vietnam spent over 4 billion U.S. dollars importing chemicals and nearly 4.6 billion U.S. dollars importing chemical products in the first 10 months of this year, down 6 percent and up 3.3 percent year-on-year respectively.

Vietnam's biggest suppliers of chemicals and chemical products included China, Japan and South Korea, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs on Thursday.

In the 10-month period, the country exported more than 1.4 billion U.S. dollars of chemicals and nearly 1.2 billion U.S. dollars of chemical products, declining 10.4 percent and rising 6.6 percent respectively.

Last year, Vietnam spent nearly 5.1 billion U.S. dollars importing chemicals, and over 5.4 billion U.S. dollars importing chemical products, mainly from China, said the department.