The Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) informed that in January crude steel production reached 1,874,925 tons, up 31.1% over the previous month, and down 4.1% over the same period.
Crude steel consumption reached 1,695,486 tons, down 10.4% over the previous month, and down 13.9% over the same period in 2021. In particular, exports of crude steel were 40,500 tons, down sharply by 84% over the same period in 2021.
For construction steel, in January 2022, the production achieved good results compared to the previous month and the same period in 2021.
Specifically, the production of construction steel in January 2022 reached 1,122,554 tons, up 11.19% compared to December 2021 and equal to the same period in 2021. Sales of steel reached 1,052,270 tons, up 1.55% over the previous month and 27.8% over the same period in 2021.
Factories have adjusted the selling price of finished steel to partially offset the production cost, which leads to an increase in sales volume due to speculation by distributors. The level of competition among factories is increasingly fierce in terms of selling prices and market share.
Meanwhile, hot-rolled coil production in January 2021 reached 499,943 tons, down 13.83% compared to December 2021 and down 10.5% over the same period in 2021. Sales reached 558,218 tons, down 7.78% over the previous month and 16.7% over the same period in 2021. For cold rolled steel, domestic sales of VSA members reached 326,916 tons, down 13.43% compared to the same period in 2021.
Welded steel pipes reached 207,203 tons, down 5.4% from the previous month but on par with the same period of 2021. Sales reached 211,517 tons, down 6.59% from the previous month, but up 15.7% over the same period last year. The export of welded steel pipes reached 21,466 tons, up 3.89% compared to December 2021 but down 17.7% compared to the same period in 2020.
Production of finished steel products reached 2,564 million tons, down 5.5% compared to December 2021 and 8.8% over the same period in 2021. Sales of all kinds of steel reached 2.443 million tons, down 2.24% compared to last month but increased by 8.5% over the same period.
Many experts and businesses believe that 2022 will be a promising year when the epidemic is under control and construction demand recovers strongly, which will make steel consumption continue to increase sharply.
According to the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA), the market outlook in the first quarter of 2022 is slowing down due to low domestic demand. Considering the steel consumption market in Vietnam, there have been positive signals from civil works and infrastructure, especially large public investment.
Tran Tuan Duong, Vice Chairman of Vietnam Steel Association, Vice Chairman of Hoa Phat Steel Group, said that due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic over the past 2 years, Vietnam's GDP has decreased from 1-2% but Vietnam's steel industry still saw positive growth.
The domestic market has slowed down, but steel enterprises have boosted exports and Vietnam has become a net exporter of steel.
According to Mr. Nguyen Thanh Trung, Vice Chairman of the Association, Chairman of Ton Dong A Joint Stock Company, Vietnam's steel industry aims to develop green steel in the future, meeting European standards when this market will impose emission tax on imported products. Vietnam needs to prepare to maintain and increase its export market share.
The prospect of Vietnam's steel market in 2022 is forecasted to be better when the Government issues guidance to stabilize and develop production and business activities to flexibly adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The representative of the Vietnam Steel Association said that Resolution 01/NQ-CP issued on January 9, 2022 with solutions for socio-economic development will be a huge support for the steel industry to develop further in 2022.
Source: vietnamplus, vietnambiz
Compiled by VietnamCredit
