According to preliminary statistics from General Department of Customs, in August 2024, Vietnam exported over 1.37 million tonnes of iron and steel, earning 941 million USD, up 32% in volume and 21% in turnover over the previous month.
In the first 8 months of 2024, export of iron and steel of all kinds reached 8.88 million tonnes, earning more than 6.4 billion USD, up 20.7% in volume and 14% in value over the same period last year. Average export price reached 730 USD/tonne, down 5.5% compared to the first 8 months of 2023.
In general, the first months of the year recorded Vietnam's iron and steel exports continuously at high levels, except for February and June, the remaining months all reached over one million tons.
In the first 8 months of 2024, the United States continued to maintain its position as the largest consumer market for iron and steel from Vietnam, reaching more than 1.26 million tonnes, equivalent to 1.04 billion USD, with an average price of 822 USD/tonne, up 16% in volume, 38% in turnover and 3.8% in price compared to the same period last year.
Italy is the second largest export market, reaching 1.01 million tonnes, equivalent to 635 million USD, down 14.8% in volume, down 24.7% in turnover and down 11.5% in price compared to the first 8 months of 2023.
The Cambodian market ranked 3rd, reaching 781 tonnes, equivalent to 492 million USD, with an export price of 628 USD/tonne in the first 8 months of 2024.
Besides the top 3, many markets recorded impressive growth. Including Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain with growth rates from 2 to 3 digits.
Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) assessed that steel industry has many opportunities to make a breakthrough in 2024 thanks to favorable factors and opportunities from export markets. According to the World Steel Association (WSA), world steel prices in 2024 are expected to increase slightly by 3.5% compared to 2023 in context of recovering demand and tightening supply.
Mr. Nguyen Duc Dung - Deputy General Director of the Vietnam Commodity Exchange (MXV) commented that domestic steel market will remain quiet in September and steel prices are likely to continue to maintain a downward trend. However, prices are unlikely to fall below VND13,000/kg and the price outlook will be more positive in the fourth quarter of 2024 when the construction season begins, especially thanks to efforts to remove difficulties in the real estate sector and promote disbursement of public investment capital.
According to Mr. Dung, in the fourth quarter, seasonal demand in China, along with positive signals from macro factors when major central banks in the world move to lower interest rates, steel prices may experience adjustments to increase again. The recovery of the steel industry this year is mainly due to the comparison with low base level of last year.

Source: Vitic/ congthuong.vn