HANOI, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam spent over 1.1 billion U.S. dollars importing fruits and vegetables in the first eight months of this year, up 12 percent on-year, its Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said on Tuesday.

Specifically, fruit imports stood at 812 million U.S. dollars, up 0.2 percent, mainly from Thailand and China.

In 2017, Vietnam spent nearly 1.6 billion U.S. dollars importing fruits and vegetables, up 68 percent against 2016.

In the first eight months of this year, the country gained roughly 2.7 billion U.S. dollars from exporting fruits and veggies, posting a year-on-year increase of 14.8 percent, said the ministry.