Posted on 26 Mar 2024
The recent surge in steel imports into Vietnam is a matter of concern that might weigh on the domestic industry, local steel makers say, urging the creation of more technical barriers to be considered.
Statistics from the General Department of Customs showed that steel imports into Vietnam totalled nearly 2.65 million tonnes in the first two months of 2024, nearly double the volume of the same period last year.
Notably, imports from China rose by three times in volume to 1.8 million tonnes worth US$1.1mil in the two months.
In 2023, Vietnam imported a total of 13.33 million tonnes worth more than US$10.4bil, posting a rise of 14.07% in volume but a fall of 12.55% in value over 2022.
According to the Vietnam Industry and Trade Information Centre, China is the largest steel exporter to Vietnam with an increasing share from 43.64% in 2022 to 62.18% in 2023.
A representative from Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) said Vietnam can produce 23 million tonnes of crude steel (square and flat billets) and 38.6 million tonnes of finished steel products including construction steel, hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanised sheets and steel pipes.
The domestic production capacity meets domestic demand, the association said, adding that Vietnam’s steel products also meet international standards and are exported to many countries around the world.
The influx of imported steel into Vietnam is a matter of concern which might eat into the market shares of domestic steel makers especially while the existing technical barriers are not strong enough to protect the local industry, the association said.
In early March, some domestic steelmakers lowered their prices in an attempt to maintain market share.
VSA said that domestic steel plants are facing a lot of difficulty due to rising production costs, rising inventories and other financial costs as well as the competition from low-priced imported products.
The average price of steel imported from China dropped for the sixth month straight to US$623 per tonne – the lowest price since January 2022.
Nguyen Van Sua, an industry insider, said that China’s economic slowdown and frozen property market have resulted in weak demand for iron and steel products, forcing China which has a strong steel industry with a capacity of several million tonnes per day to increase exports to reduce inventories.
This is certainly weighing on Vietnam, Sua said, adding that Vietnam’s existing technical barriers on imported steel products are not adequate or strong enough.
Source:The Star
