According to the customs office at Saigon Port, cosmetics imports have increased sharply in the last few months.
At Cat Lai Port, also in the city, cosmetics worth $3.42 million had been imported by March 10, a year-on-year increase of 54.8 percent.
Import of upscale mobile phones is also on the rise.
Nguyen Quoc Bao, chair of mobile phone company Thanh Cong, said his company imported around 5,000 handsets a month.
Consumer trends have changed with many customers now preferring expensive models instead of the low-end ones they did even three years ago.
The Saigon Port customs said imports of consumers goods through the port had amounted to $577.4 million in the first two months, 29.5 percent up from the same period last year.
They include 266,000 hand phones worth nearly $7 million, a 200 percent increase in volume and 177.4 percent rise in turnover.
According to the National Statistics Bureau, in January and February, 10,600 automobiles were imported at a cost of $179 million.
They include top-of-the-range brands such as Maybach, BMW, Lexus, Bentley, Porsche, and Ferrari.
Euro Auto, a company that specialises in BMW cars, said the company had sold more than 150 this year, with the cheapest being a BMW X1 costing more than $54,761. The company also said 31 Rolls-Royces had been imported at more than $400,000 each before tax
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