According to statistics from General Department of Customs, Vietnam's iron and steel exports in March 2024 reached nearly 1.1 million tonnes with a turnover of more than 834.8 million USD, an increase of 10% in volume and an increase of 11,4% in value compared to February 2024.
In the first quarter of 2024, our country's iron and steel exports earned nearly 2.4 billion USD with more than 3.23 million tonnes, up 42% in volume and 40.1% in value compared to the same period in 2023.
Average export price of iron and steel in the first 8 months of the year reached 739 USD/tonne, down slightly by 1.2% over the same period last year.
Vietnam's iron and steel exports have prospered since the beginning of the year, showing positive signs for steel industry in 2024.
Regarding markets, in the first 3 months of the year, Italy is still the largest market importing iron and steel from Vietnam, earning nearly 299 million USD with 483,000 tonnes, an increase of 80.4% in volume and an increase of 64.2% in value compared to the same period in 2023. Behind Italy are the US and Cambodia markets, with total export values in the first quarter of 399.6 and 182.8 million USD, respectively.
Notably, iron and steel exports to many markets witnessed sudden growth, including Singapore.
Specifically, in March 2024, Vietnam's iron and steel export to Singapore reached 42,190 tonnes with a turnover of more than 23 million USD. Meanwhile, in March 2023, Singapore imported only 175 tonnes of iron and steel with a turnover of just over 305,000 USD. Thus, the growth rate is up to 24,000% in volume and 7,456% in value.
Accumulated in 3 months, exports of iron and steel to this market reached 81,227 tonnes, worth more than 44.6 million USD, more than 18,790% in volume and 6,457% in value.
In particular, average export price reached 549 USD/tonnes, a shocking decrease of more than 68% compared to the same period in 2023.
According to Vietnam Steel Association (VSA), steel consumption in 2024 is expected to increase by 6.4% to nearly 21.6 million tonnes. Among them, exports of finished and semi-finished steel products are forecast to increase by 12% to nearly 13 million tonnes.
Vietnam's iron and steel industry is forecast to recover with growth, prolonging recovery of profits of enterprises in the industry.
World steel demand is forecast to recover strongly in 2024, increasing by 1.7%, reaching 1.79 billion tonnes in 2024, and increasing by 1.2% in 2025 to 1.82 billion tonnes.
Therefore, Vietnam's steel production have many opportunities, expected to increase by about 10% in 2024. Finished steel production in 2024 and 2025 is estimated to reach about 28 - 30 million tonnes with demand for domestic steel consumption about 22 - 23 million tonnes.

L. Giang
Source: Vitic/ congthuong.vn