HANOI, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam poured nearly 4.1 billion U.S. dollars into importing cloth in the first four months of this year, posting a year-on-year rise of 8 percent.

Its largest cloth import markets included China, South Korea, and Japan, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade on Monday.

In the four-month period, Vietnam also imported 530,000 tons of cotton worth 988 million U.S. dollars, down 2.5 percent in volume and down 0.6 percent in value. Meanwhile, the country's yarn import totaled 800 million U.S. dollars, surging 11.2 percent on-year.

In 2018, Vietnam poured 12.9 billion U.S. dollars into importing cloth, up 13.5 percent; over 3 billion U.S. dollars into importing cotton, up 28.5 percent; and 2.4 billion U.S. dollars importing yarn, up 32.7 percent.

Vietnam reaped 30.4 billion U.S. dollars from exporting garments and textiles last year, up 16.6 percent against 2017, mainly to the United States, Japan and China, according to the country's General Statistics Office.