On November 30, the South East Asia Iron and Steel Institute (SEAISI) hosted the presentation of Dr. Chayodom Sabhasri from Chulalongkorn Univeristy in Thailand on ‘ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and Thailand Steel Industry' at the 2011 SEAISI Economic, Environmental and Safety Seminar.
Accordingly, ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries imported up to 9.6 million mt of semi-finished steel in 2010, accounting for 33 percent of the region's total semi-finished steel demand. The region also imported 9 million mt of hot rolled coil steel (HRC) in 2010, more than half of its total HRC demand for the year. Imports of cold rolled coil and coated sheet also constituted more than half of the total demand for these products in 2010. Major sources of imports were Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. On the other hand, imports of long products were not significant as the region is self-sufficient in long steel production. Most of the long products used in the region are for the construction sector.
The main reason for ASEAN's huge import volume, especially for flat steel products, is the fact that the regional steel producers do not have the capacity to produce certain grades of steel, particularly those at the high end. Dr. Chayodom stated that the steel industry in the region cannot continue its growing momentum by relying on imports of steel from outside the region. He suggested that the region should in general change its strategies by improving its competitiveness in line with the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015. He added that the region's steel producers should go into the production of high grade steel and fill the missing gap in the supply chain.