AsemconnectVietnam - According to the report, some experts considered that the Vietnamese steel industries would recover in 2024 and benefit from the government’s policies and modified land laws to drive real estate and construction industries.

The production of steel in September increased by 2.41% month on month but decreased by 4.2% year on year to 2.34 million tons. Meanwhile, the consumption of steel products increased by 4.69% month on month and grew by 9.4% year on year to 2.2 million tons.
The Vietnamese Steel Association (VSA) predicted that the steel market will recover strongly in the first quarter of 2024, particularly policies that will accelerate the public expenditure for infrastructure to boost steel demand growth.
Hoa Phat full of orders
In early October, Hoa Phat announced its new base rate, and the price of hot-rolled coil (HRC) was revised down by US$10/ton compared with last month. Besides, additional discounts are offered for customers who purchase in bulk of more than 20,000 tons, and most clients also have reasonable discounts.
At present, local distributors point out that Hoa Phat has received orders and reached its production quota target, domestic and foreign sales are booming, and there is no news of a price cut. Therefore, the market is paying attention to Ha Tinh Steel, which is about to announce its new base rate soon.
According to statistics, Vietnam imported about 7.6 million tons of HRC in 2022, and there was a 30% decrease in the first half of this year compared with the same period a year ago. The decrease was mainly due to sluggish demand and competitive prices from local steel mills.
Starts second AD sunset review on cold-rolled stainless steel from 4 countries
On October 23, 2023, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) of Vietnam launched the second sunset review of anti-dumping (AD) duties on cold-rolled stainless steel products from Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and China, to determine whether the termination of the existing AD measures will lead to the continued or recurred dumping that causes damage to the domestic industry.
The products involved are classified under HS codes 7219.32.00, 7219.33.00, 7219.34.00, 7219.35.00, 7219.90.00, 7220.20.10, 7220.20.90, 7220.90.10, and 7220.90.90.
The deadline for interested parties’ registration is January 16, 2024.
Scrap imports fall in Sep due to weak finished steel purchases
According to statistics, Vietnam’s scrap imports totaled around 303,000 tons in September, falling by 2.4% compared to the previous month and by nearly 8% from the same month a year ago, due to weak purchases of finished steel products. Among them, the US was the major supplier, which exported a good amount of scrap at competitive prices.
In the first nine months of this year, Vietnam imported a total of 3.17 million tons of scrap, a year-on-year decrease of 7%.
Vietnam’s buyers had a low willingness to purchase finished steel due to the slowly developed construction industry in Vietnam. They preferred sourcing local materials to decrease currency risk as possible as they could.
FHS orders full in Sep amid weak market
In the year 2023, the global steel market has been sluggish, and Vietnam's open steel market has faced threats from imported materials, notably from China. Nevertheless, Vietnam's major blast furnace mill, Formosa Ha Tinh Steel (FHS), continued meeting orders after mid-September, even surpassing the order volume of August.
FHS attributed its ability to fulfill orders in these tough market conditions to several factors. First, downstream customers maintained relatively low inventories, requiring raw materials for replenishment. Second, FHS's pricing remained reasonable. Third, the Vietnamese Dong has continued to depreciate, benefiting local steel mills.
Vietnam’s steel industry takes action to become carbon neutral by 2050
Vietnam is the world's 13th largest crude steel producer and leads ASEAN in the production and consumption of steel products, with its steel industry accounting for 7% to 9% of Vietnam's total carbon emissions.
In September 2023, the Vietnam Steel Association stated that Vietnam’s steel industry aims to become carbon neutral by 2050 and is currently transitioning to a more environmentally friendly production model.
Some steel plants in Vietnam have begun to use the waste heat of the factory to generate electricity, aiming to increase energy use and reduce negative impacts on the environment.
In addition, the Vietnamese government has launched new actions and is expected to achieve carbon neutrality in the industrial and commercial sectors by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050.
T.Huong
Source: Vitic/Yieh