Vietnam’s total steel consumption recorded a slight increase in the first half of this year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Statistics from the ministry show that in the reviewed period, the consumption of rolled steel reached 1.72 million tonnes, a year-on-year rise of 25.4 percent, while 1.74 million tonnes of steel sheets and bars were sold, up 7.4 percent.

Raw steel consumption saw a decrease of 2.9 percent to nearly 1.4 million tonnes.

Before June 1 when a circular on steel quality management was still valid, businesses in Vietnam imported a large amount of alloyed steel, with the import of this product in May recording an impressive surge of 110 percent against April.

In the first five months of this year, Vietnam imported 1.74 million tonnes of alloyed steel, a year-on-year rise of 76.7 percent, and 4.32 million tonnes of steel products, up 13.6 percent from the same period last year.

The ministry has forecast a slight decrease in steel production and consumption due to the same trend in construction demand.-VNA