UAE tops phone importers' list

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the biggest importer of Vietnamese phone and phone accessories, with growth of over 100 per cent year-on-year since 2010.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnamese cellphones to the UAE reached export turnover of US$71 million in 2010, then jumped to $364 million in 2011, $1.5 billion in 2012 and more than $3 billion in 2013.


In a report released yesterday, the General Department of Viet Nam Customs' online news site, www.baohaiquan.vn, quoted a department figure as saying that the UAE had paid nearly US$520 million to import Vietnamese phones in the first two months of this year.

The figure represented over 81 per cent of total UAE import turnover from Viet Nam.

Also, according to the report, the export value to the UAE accounted for more than 15 per cent of total Vietnamese phone export turnover in the first two months of the year, when Viet Nam earned nearly $3.4 billion from phone exports.

The other major importers of Vietnamese phones in the first two months were the US, with a turnover of over $284 million; Germany with $184 million; United Kingdom with over $182 million; Hong Kong with nearly $140 million; Russia with $140 million; and Italy with $120 million. Last year, the UAE was the biggest importer of Vietnamese phones. Import value was $3.2 billion, accounting for 16 per cent of Vietnamese phone and accessory export turnover, and representing 83 per cent of the UAE's total import value from Viet Nam.

The other main products that the UAE imports from Viet Nam are computers, rice, garments and textiles. These imports have grown quickly, with growth in recent years of more than 100 per cent year-on-year for each product.