Vietnam is forecast to import 13 million mt of steel in 2021, down by almost 500,000 mt or 3.55 percent from the volume in 2020, according to the forecast made by Dinh Quoc Thai from the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) during the SEAISI 50th Anniversary e-Conference & Exhibition.
This reflects the shift of the industry to more local supply which started last year.
Overall apparent steel consumption in the country will increase - by around two percent, the VSA stated. The higher demand will be served by increased local production (HR steel production), which is going to reach 17.4 million mt in 2021, up by six percent from last year.
According to Nghiem Xuan Da, chairman of the SEAISI and of the board of Vietnam Steel Corporation, the Covid-19 pandemic, among all its negative impacts, has driven local steel production and, with the expected continuation of the expansion of infrastructure in the country, this trend is likely to continue.
In 2020, apparent steel consumption in Vietnam lost 3.38 percent, while imports posted a sharp fall of 13.23 percent to 13.48 million mt, year on year. At the same time, HR steel production rose by 7.6 percent year on year to 16.57 million mt.
The strongest production growth was seen in the longs segment last year with an increase by eight percent to above 12 million mt, and in the CRC market, where output added 12 percent to 4.44 million mt, to serve higher HDG production in particular. HR sheets and strip production was 4.45 million mt in 2020, up by eight percent, and it will keep rising at a higher pace this year as Hoa Phat is boosting capacities, the VSA stated.