Steel production at Thai Nguyen Steel JSC. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam’s steel production and consumption in the first half of2019 recorded respective increases of 7.7 percent and 9.8 percent year-on-year,according to the Vietnam SteelAssociation (VSA).
The association reported that sales of steelproducts in the second quarter hit 5.9 million tonnes, an increase of 3.2 percentcompared to the same period last year, while exports reached 1.16 milliontonnes, a yearly decrease of 47 percent.
The association predicted that the steelindustry’s growth will remain stable in 2019 and 2010, but the efficiency ofproduction and business is likely to decline.
According to Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai, the steel industryin 2019 is expected to have stable growth, contributing positively to the nationaleconomy expansion.
Notably, the Formosa Ha Tinh steel project thisyear will put two furnaces into full operation with a combined capacity of 7.5million tonnes per year.
However, VSA chairman Nghiem Xuan Da pointed out difficulties facing thesector, including higher prices of materials and electricity, supply-demandimbalance, and fierce competition with low-priced imported products.
Dasaid that in order to ensure growth and maintain the domestic market share,businesses need the State to strengthen protection for domestic production byusing effective trade defense tools.-VNA
VNA
