April sees strong growth in steel production and consumption

According to the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA), steel production and consumption in April were quite strong due to the favourable weather and it being the peak season for the construction sector.

The steel production output reached 850,000 tons in April, up 16% against the same period of last year, bringing the total output for the first four months of 2018 to 3.21 million tons, a year-on-year rise of 8.8%. Meanwhile, the consumption volume hit 830,000 tons in April and 3.07 million tons over the first four months, up 12.9% against the corresponding period last year.

Despite good consumption results, it is forecast that the steel sector will face a number of external pressures due to increasing trade protection in many countries in the world. Most major import countries, such as the EU and US, have initiated investigations and imposed safeguard duties to protect their domestic markets, causing a lot of difficulties for exporters. Whereas the domestic market offers bright prospects, the economy continues to grow strongly and investment activities have paid due attention since early this year.

The VSA says to ensure steady consumption, State agencies should continue to devise policies and measures to strictly control imports in an effort to protect domestic producers and implement policies to stimulate economic development and create stability for the macro-economy and interest rates to ensure the trust of businesses.

Production in the steel sector is forecast to grow by 20-22% this year compared to 2017.