Vietnamese steel giant Hoa Phat Group reported that weakening demand has led to sluggish sales of its products since early this year.

The company produced 416,000 tonnes of crude steel in February, or 60 per cent of that recorded in same period last year. The consumption of construction steel, hot-rolled coils, and steel billets reached 475,000 tonnes, only 70 per cent of that in February 2022. In contrast, the output of hot-rolled coil more than doubled month-on-month.

Also in February, only 282,000 tonnes of construction steel and 54,000 steel pipes were sold, down 37 per cent and 31 per cent annually, respectively.

In the first two months of this year, its crude steel production reached 809,000 tonnes, down 42 per cent year-on-year. Consumption of construction steel, hot-rolled coils and steel billets dropped by 34 per cent to 877,000 tonnes.

The group also supplied 107,000 tonnes of steel pipes and 48,000 tonnes of galvanised steel sheets, reaching 83 per cent and 68 per cent of the volumes in the same period last year, respectively.

Each year, Hoa Phat's annual crude steel production capacity usually reaches 8.5 million tonnes, the largest in Southeast Asia. In the future, the group will continue closely monitoring the market situation at home and abroad to adjust production and ensure jobs for workers. — VNS