According to statistics from General Department of Customs, steel imports to Vietnam in June reached more than 1.2 million tonnes with a value of more than 934 million USD, down 17% in volume and 17.3% in value over the previous month.
In the first 6 months of this year, Vietnam imported more than 8.2 million tonnes of steel, equivalent to more than 5.9 billion USD, up sharply by 48% in volume and 25% in value over the same period last year. Import price in June reached 727 USD/tonne, down 17% compared to June 2023.
In terms of import markets, Vietnam imported the most iron and steel from China with 5.7 million tonnes in the first 6 months of this year, equivalent to a turnover of more than 366 million USD, a sharp increase of 86% in volume and 59% in value compared to the same period in 2023. Import price also recorded a decrease of 14% over the same period, reaching more than 641 USD/tonne.
Ranked the second among upcoming steel suppliers to Vietnam is Japan with 878,851 tonnes of iron and steel, equivalent to more than 878 million USD, down 2% in volume but up sharply by 24% in value compared to the same period in 2023. Average import price reached 1,000 USD/tonne, a sharp increase of 27% over the previous year.
South Korea is Vietnam's third largest steel supplier with 568,335 tonnes, with a turnover of more than 540 million USD, up 11% in volume but only nearly 1% in value over the same period last year. Import price reached 951 USD/tonne, down 9% compared to 6M/2023.
Regarding domestic production, in 2020, Vietnam's crude steel output reached 19.9 million tonnes, helping Vietnam rise to 14th place in the world and lead ASEAN in finished steel consumption with 23.3 million tonnes. By 2023, Vietnam will rise to 12th place in the world in crude steel production with an output of 20 million tonnes.
According to data from General Department of Customs, in June alone, Vietnam imported 886,000 tonnes of hot rolled coil (HRC), equal to 151% of domestic production. Notably, amount of steel imported from China accounted for 77%. In the first half of this year, total imported hot-rolled steel output reached nearly 6 million tonnes, an increase of 32% over the same period in 2023. This import volume is equal to 173% of domestic production, of which, amount of steel imported from China accounted for 74%, the rest was from Korea, India, Japan, etc.
Value of HRC import turnover in 6 months reached 3.46 billion USD, of which China alone accounted for 2.5 billion USD. Regarding price of imported HRC, imported products from China are very low, averaging 560 USD/tonne, lower than domestic offering price by about 15-20 USD/tonne and lower than other countries by 45-108 USD/tonne.
Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) said that demand for hot-rolled steel in Vietnam is about 12-13 million tonnes/year. Capacity of domestic factories is currently about 9 million tonnes. Massive influx of imported steel into Vietnam, with import output at times being nearly 200% higher than domestic production, has caused enterprises to lose their market share of hot-rolled steel sales to imports.
Market share of HRC sales of domestic enterprises such as Hoa Phat and Formosa has decreased from 42% in 2021 to 30% in 2023 and is currently continuing to decline.
Steel industry experts also said that Vietnamese steel industry, especially production of high-quality steel and HRC steel, is quite disadvantaged, due to previous context of not being able to produce domestically, so international agreements and commitments all have an import tax rate of 0%.
Facing with situation of massive imports of hot-rolled steel coils at cheap prices, enterprises and experts also believe that relevant agencies should continue to build and perfect system of technical management standards, quality management, technical barriers and at the same time have reasonable defense measures, thereby preventing steel products that do not meet technical safety and environmental standards from flooding the Vietnamese market.

Source: Vitic/ congthuong.vn