Steel imports hit US$9 billion

Vietnam imported 19.83 million tons of finished and semi-finished steel products, 52% of which were from China. Meanwhile, most of Vietnam’s steel products were shipped to ASEAN, which accounted for 75% of total exports.

VSA said this year steel businesses will face fierce competition at regional markets like Cambodia and Laos where cheap Chinese products are flooding. Meanwhile Indonesia and Malaysia will impose high anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese steel products.

In the domestic market, VSA reported that its members sold around 551,000 tons of construction steel in January, down 6% compared to the previous month but up 36.6% over the same period last year.

However, the prices of steel scraps and steel ingots began rising after a long-time decline, making the selling prices up.