Local steel consumption will likely to increase this month and the next few months. — Photo tuoitre.vn

Both domestic steel production and sales fell in January due to low demand on the occasion of the seven-day lunar New Year holiday (Tet).

Production and sales also fell as steel traders stored a fairly large amount of goods before Tet.

The Viet Nam Steel Association (VSA) report revealed that steel output reached over 1.37 million and 823,000 tonnes of steel products were sold during the first month of this year, 12.7 and 45.2 per cent lower than to the previous month.

VSA chairman Nguyen Van Sua predicted that steel consumption would increase this month and the next few months.

Earlier, the association forecast that the country’s rising steel demand will boost production by 10-12 per cent in 2017.

Viet Nam’s per capita steel consumption could grow further in the next few years from just below 300 kilograms today, said industry experts.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said domestic market has been seeing a continuous increase in the import volume of steel products, mostly from China, even though domestic industry is capable of meeting local demands.

In order to facilitate the local steel industry, the ministry will continue to implement and monitor temporary trade protection measures to ensure healthy competition.

Viet Nam’s import value for steel and iron products continuously surged sharply in the first month to US$710 million, the General Statistics Office reported.

The value rose by up to 30 per cent against the same period last year. — VNS