Vietnamese Firms Exporting More Steel Billets
Posted on: Tuesday, 20 May 2008, 09:00 CDT
Vietnamese firms exporting more steel billets
HANOI, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Steel billet producers in Vietnam are making efforts to export more products due to a sharp drop in domestic demand, local newspaper Vietnam News reported Monday.
However, the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) has warned that such exports may soon result in a shortage of materials in the local market.
Van Loi Steel and Cast Iron Company last week said it has exported 10,000 tons of steel billets, the key material for steel production, to the Philippines, while Dinh Vu Steel Company has recently signed contracts to export 30,000 tons of the product to some Southeast Asian countries.
The two export pioneers said they were forced to export as they could not sell the product on the domestic market, noting that the government has lowered the targeted economic growth in an effort to curb inflation, resulting in delay for many construction projects.
Made-in-Vietnam steel billet export price is lower than the average price in the region: over 800 U.S. dollars per ton versus 900-970 dollars per ton.
The VSA warned that there could be a shortage of steel following the recent billet exports. According to the association, Vietnam would need 4 million tons of steel billets this year. Domestic producers are set to supply only half of the amount, with the remainder being imported.
VSA Chairman Nguyen Tien Nghi said as the price of steel billets in regional countries has seen strong fluctuation and has already risen to 900-950 dollars, local steel producers would not import steel billets under such circumstances.
(c) 2008 Xinhua News Agency - CEIS. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS
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