Hoa Phat churns out 250,000 tonnes of steel in January hinh anh 1Illustrative image (Source: CTV)

Hanoi (VNA) – Hoa Phat Group, the nation’s largest steel producer, has announced that it churned out nearly 250,000 tonnes of construction steel in January, up 27 percent year-on-year and equivalent to the record-breaking figures of October 2018.

Of the amount, the group’s central and southern branches contributed 48,800 tonnes, while the remainder came from its northern factories.  

With its first production line put into operation, the Hoa Phat Dung Quat iron and steel production complex in the central province of Quang Ngai manufactured 42,700 tonnes during the year’s initial month.  Its second line is scheduled to turn out products at the end of the second quarter.

Dinh Quang Hieu, head of the sales department of Hoa Phat Group, said distributors have been collecting steel to meet post-Tet project demands.

Throughout January, the group exported up to 34,600 tonnes of steel, mostly to the US (12,000 tonnes) and Cambodia (11,772 tonnes), with rolled steel making up 66.4 percent of the volume. Hoa Phat’s steel was also shipped to Japan, Indonesia, Laos, Australia, and other markets.

The group is expected to produce 3.3 million tonnes of construction steel in 2019.

According to the group, it shipped 240,000 tonnes of steel abroad in 2018, up 50.97 percent against the previous year.

Never before had the group received such large orders from its traditional markets – including Japan, the US, Cambodia, and Malaysia – like it did in 2018. The strongest growth was seen in Japan, with total steel orders increasing 20 times to over 58,500 tonnes, followed by Cambodia at a 246 percent increase and Malaysia with a rise of 202 percent.

Cambodia was the largest customer of Hoa Phat in 2018 with nearly 70,000 tonnes, and will continue to be a market with great potential for Hoa Phat steel as the neighbouring country’s steel industry has not yet developed, while demand is high for the construction of high-rise buildings.–VNA 
VNA