Vietnam spent roughly 6.1 billion U.S. dollars importing nearly 10.5 million tons of iron and steel in the first nine months of this year, down 15.5 percent in value and 3.2 percent in volume against the same period of last year.

For the period, the major providers included China, India, Japan and South Korea, according to the Vietnam Steel Association on Wednesday.

In September, Vietnam imported 1.1 million tons of iron and steel, which were worth 660 million U.S. dollars, marking a decline of 4.4 percent in volume and 11.7 percent in value year on year, according to the association.

In 2019, Vietnam spent some 9.5 billion U.S. dollars importing roughly 14.6 million tons of iron and steel, up 7.6 percent in volume and down 4.2 percent in value against 2018, showed the official data.

Meanwhile, Vietnam reaped some 4.2 billion U.S. dollars from exporting nearly 6.6 million tons of iron and steel last year, recording an increase of 5.4 percent in volume and a drop of 8.5 percent in value year on year.