HANOI, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam imported roughly 7 million tons of steel and iron totaling 5 billion U.S. dollars between January and June, dropping 11.6 percent in volume but increasing 8.3 percent in value against the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the country imported 912,000 tons of other common metals worth over 3.4 billion U.S. dollars, down 2.2 percent in volume but up 16 percent in value, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade on Monday.

Vietnam spent over 9 billion U.S. dollars importing roughly 15 million tons of steel and iron last year, with China being the biggest import market with nearly 7 million tons of the products totaling 4.1 billion U.S. dollars, followed by Japan and South Korea.

Steel plants in Vietnam produced nearly 21.1 million tons of products in 2017, up 24.3 percent against 2016, sold nearly 18 million tons of products, up 20.7 percent, according to the Vietnam Steel Association. Meanwhile, the country exported over 300,000 tons of steel billets.