According to statistics released by the Economic and Trade Information Center under the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, Vietnam imported more than 273,000 tons of raw silk in the first eight months of 2008, worth US$532 million, down 0.1% and 12.7% respectively from the same period in 2007.
Taiwan is the largest supplier of raw silk to Vietnam. In the first eight months of 2008, Taiwan exported 113,400 tons of raw silk to Vietnam, worth more than US$200 million, down 11% and up 1% respectively from the same period in 2007. In the first eight months of 2008, China exported approximately 40,000 tons of raw silk to Vietnam, worth US$88.1 million, an increase of 43.5% and 41.9% respectively over the same period in 2007. In August 2008, China’s raw silk exports to Vietnam dropped to just over 5,000 tons, worth US$10.5 million.
