The Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (Vicem) intends to lift its exports to 1 million tonnes of cement this year, based on concerns that the cement surplus may lead to harsh competition on the domestic market.

Vicem general director Nguyen Ngoc Anh said that the corporation has tried to boost exports as the corporation this year is due to put an additional 6-7 cement production lines into operation, lifting its total output to nearly 20 million tonnes.

The corporation expects to earn 22.5 trillion VND (1.18 billion USD) in revenue and a minimum profit of 1.43 trillion (75.3 million USD).

To prepare for the export boost, the corporation has undertaken fact-finding trips to a number of potential markets including Cambodia , Laos and China .

The corporation’s subsidiaries including Cam Pha, Hoang Thach, Ha Tien and Hoang Mai have so far exported their products to Africa, the Middle East and Cambodia for the last five years, however, export volumes have remained insignificant.

The Ministry of Construction recently directed relevant bodies to plan for cement exports to deal with the current domestic cement glut./.