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| Workers arrange cement bags at Dong Banh Cement Co in the northern province of Lang Son. Consumption of cement in the first six months reached nearly 33 million tonnes, up roughly 10 per cent year on year. — VNA/VNS Photo Trong Dat |
HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Cement and steel consumption could rise 8 to 10 per cent in the first half of 2014 against the same period last year, after declining in the past few years.
Chairman of the Viet Nam Cement Association, Nguyen Quang Cung said that cement consumption in the first six months was nearly 33 million tonnes, up roughly 10 per cent year on year.
Cement consumption, both in the domestic and export markets to date this year, have rebounded to register stable growth similar to 2010 after three years of decline, Cung said.
Cung forecast that price and sale of cement in the second half of the year will be continuously stable, helping the cement industry register sales of between 65 to 70 million tonnes, up roughly 9 per cent against last year. Of the total, domestic consumption will make up roughly 49-50 million tonnes.
Currently, the country's total cement output is more than 70 million tonnes, and fully meets domestic and export demands this year, the association said.
The steel industry has shown the same trend, with consumption in H1 estimated to reach nearly 2.5 million tonnes, up 8 per cent against the same period last year.
Vice Chairman of the Viet Nam Steel Association (VSA), Nguyen Van Sua said that after including other steel products such as steel and iron sheets and steel pipes, the steel industry's consumption in H1 was more than 5 million tonnes, up 12 per cent year on year.
Steel production in June alone was roughly 445,000 tonnes while consumption was roughly 411,000 tonnes.
The steel price in June was estimated to rise roughly 5 per cent against last month due to a rise in transport fees.
In June, Pomina and Vina Kyoei steel producers increased their ex-factory steel prices by VND100,000 (US$4.69) per tonne to VND13-13.1 million ($610.3-615). The retail steel price was VND15.5-16 million ($727.7-751.17) per tonne.
It was forecast that steel consumption this year, both in domestic and export markets, will be roughly 12 million tonnes, up 5 to 7 per cent against last year.
However, supply in the steel industry still exceeds demand, causing steel plants to run approximately 40-60 per cent of its designated output, according to the VSA. — VNS