Steel competition heats up

Five new steel plants would go live by the end of this year, according to the Viet Nam Steel Association (VSA).

The new plants would have a combined annual production capacity of up to 1.7 million tonnes of construction steel and around 250,000 tonnes of pig iron, said the steel industry’s peak body.

The opening of the new plants in Vung Tau, Binh Duong province in the south and centralDa Nang City would also remove the reliance on imports, according to the association.

This was critical as Viet Nam still imported more than 30 per cent of the total domestic demand for pig iron, said VSA deputy chairman Nguyen Tien Nghi.

“When the new plants are opened, competition will definitely heat up,” said Nghi.

“However, they will help strengthen the industry,” he added.

He also predicted the industry this year could meet at least 70 per cent of the domestic demand for pig iron.

“The figure last year was less than 70 per cent,” Nghi said.

Explaining why Viet Nam needed to import steel ingot, the VSA representative said the total capacity of steel manufacturers had not met demand.

Moreover the country did not have a scrap iron source to produce steel ingot.

“Scrap iron is key when producing steel ingot. Meanwhile, Viet Nam is not an industrial country so that we have to import about 70 per cent of our scrap iron requirements to produce pig iron,” Nghi said.

Nghi told Viet Nam News that the country’s total steel sales this year could increase by up to 10 per cent.

“Last year, the country consumed 6.3 million tonnes of steel,” he said. — VNS

Tags: Vietnam steel industry, Vietnam steel market, Vietnam steel prices