Vietnam was among the five biggest cotton importers in the world when it planned to import about 600, 000 tons in 2013, according to the Vietnam Cotton and Yarn Association on Wednesday.

In the first nine months of this year, the country imported nearly 430,000 tons of cotton, worth $846 million, a year-on-year increase of 35 percent.

Vietnam's major cotton suppliers include the United States ( which accounts for 43.5 percent of the country's total cotton imports), India, Australia, Brazil, Pakistan, China and Indonesia.

Vietnam imports cotton for garment and textile production for domestic consumption and for export. In the first nine months, the country pocketed $13.2 billion from garment and textile exports, a rise of 18 percent year on year, according to the Vietnam General Statistics Office.