The plastics industry in Vietnam appears to be doing well, just looking at the export figures. The country has earned an estimated US$345 million from exports of plastic products in the first five months of this year, up 31.9 percent over the same period last year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade was quoted as saying in a Nhan Dan Online story.

But the growth of dollar amount doesn't necessarily indicate an increase of volume. In fact, prices of plastic products have gone up across the board, both for exports and Vietnamese domestic market. The Nhan Dan report cited a 10-30 percent price hike of such plastic items as schoolbags, raincoats and children's toys. And the price increase of finished products was a result of rising resin costs. Prices of PP, PVC and HDPE increased US$30-50 per metric ton in May compared to April and up 23-25 percent compared to the same period last year.

Since the Vietnamese plastics industry largely relies on imported resin, increased spending on resin imports is the price it pays for export growth of processed products. Also taking into account inflation and labor wage hikes in that country, the bottom line tells a different story than sales.