Last year was the second consecutive year the cement industry recorded high export volume. — Photo vietnamplus.vn

Viet Nam’s cement industry in 2019 continued gain of billions of US dollars in export value, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The industry last year exported 34 million tonnes of cement and clinker, earning about US$1.4 billion, an increase of more than $148 million compared to 2018, said the ministry’s Import-Export Department.

The export value rose by $100-150 million against the Ministry of Construction’s forecast in early 2019.

Last year was the second consecutive year the cement industry recorded high export volume. In 2018, the nation exported 32 million tonnes of cement and clinker worth $1.2 billion.

Nguyen Quang Cung, Chairman of the Cement Association, said the growth in exports and higher cement export price promoted development of production in the domestic cement businesses, reported Dau tu (Investment) newspaper.

This year, the Ministry of Construction forecasts cement demand will continue to increase by 4-5 per cent compared to 2019, reaching about 101-103 million tonnes. Meanwhile, the domestic cement consumption is estimated to stand at about 69-70 million tonnes and the nation would export 32-34 million tonnes of cement and clinker. — VNS