As per General Department of Customs (GDC) data, Vietnam exported 4.4 million tonnes of ores and industrial minerals worth $167 million in 2017. Exports to China alone- 3.5 million tonnes accounted for 85 per cent of the total export. The quantity of bauxite exported to China totalled 343362 tonnes.

To note, China is the only country where Vietnam ships off its bauxite currently. It is an ideal market for mineral rich countries. It continues to buy bauxite and other ores from these countries to satiate its domestic demand.

Global export-import data shows that Vietnam exported US$19,315.19 million worth bauxite to China in 2017; but the export turnover was only 51.4 per cent of total mineral turnover for the South-east Asian economy, reported an industry source. In 2018, value of bauxite export to China is estimated to drop to US$18,426.35 million.

The quantity of bauxite export is also estimated to decline at 309135 tonnes, down 10 per cent from the previous year.

However, China will continue to be the key bauxite and mineral export market for Vietnam as the country is pursuing an energy conservation policy and therefore, increasing its mineral exploitation activities overseas and importing more of raw materials for domestic processing and value addition.

“Vietnam is an attractive market for China to implement the policy. In fact, the exploitation output can satisfy demand of the country’s industries. However, China is still trying to import minerals with no limitations,” Khuong Quang Dong, an energy expert, noted.