In August this year, steel production in Vietnam totaled 2.34 million mt, increasing by 11.36 percent month on month, and up by 12.6 percent year on year, according to the Vietnam Steel Association. In the given month, steel sales increased by 5.88 percent month on month and increased by 13.9 percent year on year to 2 million mt. In August, steel exports increased by 8.81 percent month on month to 462,138 mt.
In the January-August period of the year, steel production in the country fell by 5 percent year on year to 16 million mt, while steel sales were down by 6.9 percent year on year to 14.44 million mt. In the given period, the steel exports reached 2.74 million mt, down by 13.8 percent over the same period in 2019.
The GDP growth in Southeast Asia is expected to decrease by 4.2 percent by 2020 and Vietnam is expected to be the only Southeast Asian country to see growth this year, according to the latest Global Economic Outlook report by Oxford Economics.