HANOI, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam imported nearly 2 million tons of plastic valued at roughly 2.9 billion U.S. dollars in the first four months of this year, gaining respective year-on-year rises of 14.7 percent and 3.9 percent.

Meanwhile, the country spent over 2 billion U.S. dollars importing plastic products, up 12.3 percent, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade on Tuesday.

From January and April, Vietnam reaped nearly 1.1 billion U.S. dollars from exporting plastic products, posting a year-on-year surge of 17.3 percent.

In 2018, Vietnam imported roughly 5.6 million tons of plastic totaling 9.1 billion U.S. dollars, up 11.9 percent and up 20 percent, respectively.

In 1990, each Vietnamese person consumed 3.8 kg of plastic, and in 2015, the figure surged to 41 kg of the product, according to the Vietnam Plastics Association.

According to Mordor Intelligence, an India-based market research firm, Vietnam's plastic market is likely to post a compounded annual growth rate of more than 6.6 percent in the 2018-2023 period.