According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade, during the first six months of 2008 Vietnam's steel production registered a rise, while steel consumption in the country also saw an increase in spite of the climbing steel prices.
Thus, during the period in question, the country's steel industry produced 1.96 million metric tons of steel and sold 1.83 million metric tons, showing increases of 6.7 and 8.2 percent respectively.