Hanoi, November 4 (Prensa Latina) After 19 price declines since the beginning of the year, the national steel industry will only experience a strong recovery in the first quarter of 2024, according to estimates released today by the Vietnam Steel Association.
Signs of improvement in the industry were already visible last September, when the company recorded its highest sales volume of 2023 at 268,000 tons.
In the reference month, steel production approached 2.34 million tons, up 2.41 percent from August, while consumption was nearly 2.2 million tons, up 4.69 percentage points from the previous month.
According to the association, the gradual recovery of the steel industry is a response to the Vietnamese government’s policies aimed at removing obstacles and boosting economic growth, including accelerating public capital disbursement for transport infrastructure development.
Industry experts quoted by VNA news agency were also of the view that the adoption of the (revised) draft land law, currently being discussed in the sixth session of the National Assembly, will also favor the revival of the sector.
With strong signs from the real estate and construction sectors, the steel market will recover soon, predicted Vietnam Mercantile Exchange director Pham Quang Anh, who also praised the government’s efforts to promote public capital disbursement.
Since the beginning of 2023, Vietnam’s steel industry has recorded 19 price declines, remaining at around US$548.56 per ton due to the gloomy outlook in the real estate market, slow disbursement of public investments and competition from Chinese producers.
ro/mpm