Leading steelmaker Hoa Phat shipped abroad 165,000 tonnes of construction steel in the first eight months of this year, up 38 percent year-on-year, according to the group.
Second-quarter earnings of steelmaking companies showed signs of deterioration as prices of iron ore continued to increase, leading to higher production costs and lower profit.
Vietnam’s steel production and consumption in the first half of 2019 recorded respective increases of 7.7 percent and 9.8 percent year-on-year, according to the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA).
Hoa Phat Group sold more than 1.34 million tonnes of construction steel to the Vietnamese market in the first half of 2019, up 22.9 percent year on year, retaining its position as the biggest supplier with a market share of 25 percent.
The freshly-signed EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) will help the Vietnamese steel sector expand export markets in Europe, industry insiders said.
In the second half of this year, increasing competition in product quality, prices and market share are predicted to force steel companies to work harder to maintain their foothold in the market.
Vietnam’s steel industry is facing 47 anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations from importing countries, accounting for one-third of the total cases of Vietnamese goods, according to a report from the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).
Enhancing product quality and optimising production costs would help domestic steel producers compete with cheap products imported from China, said Nguyen Van Sua, Vice President of the Vietnam Steel Association.
A Canadian trade body has made a preliminary ruling that imports of cold-rolled steel from Vietnam, China and the Republic of Korea are harming the domestic industry.
With growth of up to 22 percent forecast this year and firms with bright prospects, Vietnam’s steel industry has high potential to reach many markets if it overcomes difficulties in trade defence lawsuits and high import volume.
The construction of a 7.5 million USD factory manufacturing mechanical products, machinery and spare parts started at Phu Vinh industrial park inside Vung Ang economic zone in Ky Anh town, Ha Tinh on March 23.
The Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) will coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to protect the legitimate rights and interests of local steelmakers who were recently accused of tax evasion by the US Department of Commerce (DOC).
The Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) is calling on the Government to maintain a series of quality and management controls in the steel industry since trade fraud in steel imports is still high.
Despite stagnation in the second quarter of 2017, Vietnam’s steel industry managed to turn a profit in the first seven months of the year, led by a rebound in construction and real estate demand.
The steel industry is predicted to grow by 12-15 percent in the next five years, heard a workshop titled “Steel sector dialogue: Prospects 2017-2020” in Ho Chi Minh City on June 12.
The domestic steel industry has seen a slowdown in recently months with weak steel sales and price drops, according to the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA).
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