Vietnam produces 17.5 million tonnes of steel in 2016 hinh anh 1Illustrative image. (Source: VNA)
 
Hanoi (VNA) – The steel sector turned out 17.5 million tonnes of products last year, up 16.8 percent from 2015, according to the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA).

Meanwhile, more than 15.3 million tonnes were sold, representing an annual increasing of 23.7 percent.

VSA Chairman Ho Nghia Dung said the growth of construction steel, which makes up about 50 percent of the total steel products, was a highlight in 2016.

Production of construction steel last year was over 8.5 million tonnes, an increase of 18.3 percent year on year and the sales of the product also jumped 20.6 percent to 8.4 million tonnes.

In 2016, the sector exported 2.4 billion USD worth of goods, but posted total import costs of 9.1 billion USD.

Due to uneven development within the sector, Vietnam has to import large volumes of materials and semi-processed products to serve production. The country imported more than 1.8 million tonnes of pre-painted galvanised iron as well as 8.1 million tonnes of alloy steel.

Despite spare production capacity in steel billets manufacturing, the country still bought more than 1.1 million tonnes of the products or 12.6 percent of the total billets available in the market last year.

Overall, the sector grew 18.1 percent in 2016. The VSA projected a 12-percent growth for it this year.

The VSA said it will continue working with relevant agencies to promote domestic production and conduct anti-dumping investigations on imported steel products.-VNA
VNA