Vietnam earned nearly 21.9 billion U.S. dollars from exporting phones and components in the first five months of this year, accounting for 16.7 percent of the country's total export revenue over the period and posting a year-on-year rise of 19.6 percent, according to the General Statistics Office on Wednesday.

With that revenue, phones and components continued to be Vietnam's largest export item, followed by computers and electronic components, and garments and textiles.

Between January and May, Vietnam also spent around 7.5 billion U.S. dollars importing phones and components, up 51.3 percent year-on-year.

In 2020, the country earned roughly 50.9 billion U.S. dollars from exporting phones and components, mainly to China, the United States and South Korea, down 1 percent year-on-year, said the office.