Van Nam
Le Van Toi, head of the Building Materials Department under the Construction Ministry, on Monday told the Daily that local cement producers have sped up exports since the middle of the year to maintain production and overcome difficulties in the local construction market.
Between January and November, the cement industry sold 55.2 million tons, up 13% year on year, including nearly 12.5 million tons shipped to some Southeast Asian markets and the Middle East, a 63% year-on-year surge.
This year, the nation’s cement sales are expected at around 60.5 million tons, or 4.5 million tons higher than the target set earlier this year.
Except for a price hike in September, cement prices have been stable. Cement stockpile is estimated at 2.6 million tons, equivalent to 15 production days, which is a normal stockpile figure, Toi said.
According to the development plan of Vietnam’s cement industry in the 2011- 2020 period, cement demand is expected at 75-76 million tons in 2015 and 93-95 million tons in 2020.
Concerning the steel industry, data of the General Statistics Office shows that the nation exported two million tons of steel worth over US$1.6 billion in the Jan-Nov period.
Meanwhile, iron and steel imports surged 27% to nearly 8.9 million tons during the period, taking to over US$2.6 billion the industry’s trade deficit in 11 months compared to US$4.4 billion in the same period of 2012.
Explaining the trade deficit, Pham Chi Cuong, an expert in the steel industry, said that local enterprises mainly imported hot-rolled steel for cold rolling, production of strip steel, galvanized iron sheet and color plated iron sheet for exports. Exports of these products also soared by 30-40% in the period.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, steel consumption usually increases at the end of the year due to favorable weather conditions for construction. However, steel prices have dropped slightly as supply has far exceeded demand.
In the northern region, steel prices with value added tax excluded are from VND12.4-13 million per ton while steel roll prices are from VND12.1-12.9 million a ton. In the southern region, steel prices hover around VND12.6-13.5 million per ton.
Đăng ký: VietNam News