The sales of building steel in January this year fell sharply by 36 per cent over the previous month and 42 per cent reduction compared to January 2013.— Photo vnsteel

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The sales of building steel in January this year fell sharply by 36 per cent over the previous month and 42 per cent reduction compared to January 2013.

The statistics of the Viet Nam Steel Association (VSA) showed that the total domestic steel production in January was only 319,975 tonnes, a 30 per cent decrease against the previous month and 5 per cent lower than the corresponding period last year due to slow consumption.

Steel producers have estimated that the production level was appropriate for the inventory.

By the end of January, the inventory of building steel was more than 436,000 tonnes. The association said the output would ensure sales for February, while the raw steel would also meet the demand of the material at rolling steel factories nationwide.

On the bright side, the sales of steel pipes maintained a growth rate of 0.8 per cent over the same period last year, reaching 68,045 tonnes. Its inventory was over 23,700 tonnes by the end of last month.

VSA forecast the steel industry would continue to face difficulties in February and even lower sales than January due to the long Tet holiday.

However, it expected that the market would recover in March as several construction works would begin.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has said that the steel enterprises had to cut their scale of production by up to 40 per cent.

Ho Nghia Dung, VSA's chairman, added that the demand for steel has sharply reduced. He suggested that the Government should opt for solutions including issuing bonds, investing in infrastructure and improving the property market to help the steel industry gain a growth rate of 5-7 per cent this year. — VNS