However, importedsteel from China remains a challenge for the sector. Vietnam’s steel industry is apparently recovering. This company has sold more than 30% more construction steel compared to last year. For the first time in 10 years, the company’s steel production has reached 70% of its designed capacity.
Le Thanh Thuc, Head of Ex-Import Division, Thai Hung JSC, said: "We’ve seen positive improvement thanks to the government’s policies in terms of steel, real estate, infrastructure, and other sectors. Therefore, the domestic steel sector has seen positive signs compared to 2014".
Domestic steel production is high. However, the fall in raw material prices has been attributed to the decreased domestic steel price. Specifically, the price of raw materials from Japan fell 10% and 27% from China. According to experts, Vietnam steel industry’s main challenge is strong export from China.
Among the 7 million tonnes of imported steel, China accounted for two thirds of the total. Some countries have started to reduce imported steel products from China. The European Union decided to extend tariffs on imported Chinese steel for another 5 years, while the US has filed complaint, claiming Chinese steel is being dumped. As a result, the Vietnamese steel industry has been affected.
Nonetheless, Vietnam’s steel industry is still growing and is expected to record 20% growth by the end of 2015.
