Viet Nam has transformed from a steel-importing country to a producing nation, with the export of 300,000 tonnes of steel billets last year.

This was revealed on Tuesday in a report of the Viet Nam Steel Association on the status of Viet Nam’s steel manufacture in 2017.

According to the report, Vietnamese steel billets are mainly exported to markets in the Philippines and Indonesia, with the average prices ranging from US$480 to $500 per tonne, depending on the period.

Besides billets, Viet Nam also exported more than one million tonne of construction steel in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 62 per cent.

The total steel consumption in the country in 2017 is estimated at nearly 18 million tonnes, up 20.7 per cent compared to the previous year.

Prior to this, VSA forecast the steel industry to grow by 12-15 per cent in the next five years. Of which, cast iron output is forecast to increase 80 per cent to reach 4.5 million tonnes, while steel billets will jump 47.2 per cent (11.5 million tonnes), finished steel products up 12 per cent (20 million tonnes), cold rolled coils up 13 per cent and steel pipes up 15 per cent. — VNS