China was the largest market for Vietnamese cement imports in the first quarter of 2020, importing 2.73Mt worth US$96.92m, according to the latest data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs. This was down 5.4 per cent and 13.3 per cent YoY in volume and value, respectively, but still accounted for 35.3 per cent of Vietnam’s export volumes during the quarter.

The Philippines imported 1.47Mt worth US$69.09m in the 1Q20, declining 27.5 per cent YoY in volume and 32.3 per cent in value.

Elsewhere, the country dispatched 1.34Mt of cement to Bangladesh, a fall of 5.5 per cent YoY. The value of the imports also decreased 18.6 per cent YoY to US$44.82m.

Taiwan imported 459,110t worth US$16.1m, up seven per cent per cent in terms of volume but down seven per cent in value.

Overall, Vietnam earned US$301.05m by exporting 7.73Mt of cement in the 1Q20, decreasing 9.7 per cent and 17.4 per cent in volume and value terms, respectively, according to the customs department.