AsemconnectVietnam - Crude steel production reached 6.692 million tons in the first quarter of 2023, a year-on-year decline of 20.9 per cent, according to the latest report from the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA).

Meanwhile, sales of crude steel were estimated at 6.068 million tons, down 25.4 per cent. VSA figures also show that Vietnam exported 1.425 million tonnes of steel in the first two months of the year, earning over $1 billion, a year-on-year rise of 6.85 percent in volume but a decline of 26.37 percent in value.
Key export markets were ASEAN (37.31 percent), the EU (20 percent), India (9.34 percent), Turkey (7.32 percent), and the US (6.39 percent).
The VSA reported that the construction steel price has continued falling on the back of lower global demand. The price fell by between VND100,000 and VND610,000 ($4.22 and $25.7) per tonne on April 7 and then between VND150,000 and VND720,000 ($6.3 and $30.3) per tonne on April 12. The current price is between VND15.02 million and VND16.88 million ($633 and $712) per tonne (depending on product and brand).
Vietnam's VAS Group first delivers commercial steel to US
On April 17, at Nghi Son International Port (Thanh Hoa province), VAS Group witness its first commercial steel batch to the Houston Port (US). This is the brand new milestone of VAS breaking into the US market.According to a VAS official, the second commercial steel shipment to Los Angeles will be in near future.
In an effort to produce clean and green steel quality, VAS keeps its induction furnace system up to date and maintains cutting-edge waste treatment, becoming one of the first enterprises to deploy the "green steel" scale in Vietnam.
Steel prices in the North
According to SteelOnline.vn, Hoa Phat steel brand is stable for 5 consecutive days, CB240 coil line is at 15,000 VND/kg; D10 CB300 rebar is priced at 15,450 VND/kg.
Vietnam Italy Steel, currently CB240 steel coil at 15,000 VND/kg; rebar D10 CB300 at 15,250 VND/kg.Viet Sing Steel, with CB240 coil at VND 15,020/kg; D10 CB300 rebar is priced at 15,480 VND/kg.Viet Duc Steel continues to maintain the same selling price, with CB240 steel coil priced at VND 14,950/kg; with rebar D10 CB300 remained at 15,350 VND/kg.VAS steel, currently CB240 coil line is at VND 15,170/kg; D10 CB300 rebar is priced at 15,330 VND/kg.Viet Nhat Steel, with CB240 coil line at 14,920 VND/kg; D10 CB300 rebar is priced at 15,120 VND/kg.
Steel prices in the Central region
Hoa Phat Steel has not changed, with CB240 coil at VND 15,950/kg; D10 CB300 rebar is priced at 15,350 VND/kg.Viet Duc Steel, currently CB240 coil line is down to 15,350 VND/kg; D10 CB300 rebar is priced at 15,760 VND/kg.VAS steel, currently CB240 coil line is at VND 15,020/kg; D10 CB300 rebar is priced at 15,070 VND/kg.
Pomina Steel, with CB240 coil line, is currently at VND 15,810/kg; D10 CB300 rebar is priced at 15,860 VND/kg.
Steel prices in the South
Hoa Phat Steel, with CB240 coil at VND 15,050/kg; D10 CB300 rebar is priced at 15,350 VND/kg.VAS steel, CB240 coil line at VND 15,020/kg; D10 CB300 rebar is priced at 15,120 VND/kg.Tung Ho Steel, with CB240 coil at VND 15,430/kg; D10 CB300 rebar is priced at VND 15,730/kg.Pomina Steel, currently CB240 coil line at 16,370 VND/kg; D10 CB300 rebar is priced at 16,680 VND/kg.
Steel market to recover in latter half of 2023
The steel market is likely to recover in the third and fourth quarters of this year thanks to augmented efforts to disburse public investment and credit packages for social housing projects, along with positive signs of the Vietnamese economy, said Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) Doan Danh Tuan.
He thought that though 2023 remains full of difficulties and challenges to industries, Vietnam is believed to hold much more potential than other economies. Its GDP growth is forecast to reach some 6.5% while the global rate is predicted to hit about 1.5% and Southeast Asia 5% on average.
The National Assembly approved an aid package worth 350 trillion VND (14.9 billion USD) for economic recovery for 2022 - 2023, including 113.84 trillion VND for infrastructure development, with a focus on such key projects as the North - South Expressway, the Long Thanh International Airport, and large logistics ports.
Last February, the Government also gave the green light to a credit package worth 120 trillion VND for social housing projects.
These factors should lead to soaring steel demand in Q3 and Q4, Tuan said.
Industry outlook in 2023
Forecasting the situation of the steel market in 2023, some experts believe that fierce competition in the domestic market, tight monetary policies, increasing interest rates, and escalation of exchange rates may negatively affect the economy and the needs and production and business activities of companies within the industry. Besides, the low demand of the domestic civil construction sector will significantly affect the demand for construction materials, including steel.
At the recent DInsights forum "Stock market volatility: The focus of the steel and real estate industry", a representative of VNDIRECT Securities Joint Stock Company said that currently 60% of steel production is used for civil construction in Vietnam and is closely related to the real estate market. However, the real estate market is forecasted to continue to face difficulties in the coming time, affecting steel consumption.
For exports, the ASEAN market - consuming about 10% of Vietnam's total steel, in 2023, except for Indonesia as a bright spot, countries like Thailand or Singapore all saw construction activity slow down. Therefore, the steel consumption demand of the ASEAN region is expected to grow slowly or flatly.
For Europe and the US (which consumes 3% of total steel), industrial production has not shown any positive signs, so demand is unlikely to have a strong increase, especially when the US Federal Reserve (Fed) may raise interest rates at least 2 more times in the first 6 months of the year.
However, the market still recorded a number of factors supporting the growth of steel enterprises until the end of the year when the demand for iron and steel is expected to improve thanks to more public investment projects being implemented. Specifically, in 2023, the Ministry of Transport was assigned by the Government to disburse public investment with a capital of up to VND 94,161 billion, 2.2 times higher than in 2021 and 1.7 times in 2022.
T.Huong
Source: Vitic/VNA