In the first 6 months of the year, Vietnam imported more than 8.2 million tons of iron and steel, equivalent to more than 5.9 billion USD, up 48% in volume and 25% in value over the same period last year.
According to statistics of General Department of Customs, import Iron and steel imported to Vietnam in June reached more than 1.2 million tons with a value of more than 934 million USD, down 17% in volume and 17.3% in value compared to the previous month.
In the first 6 months of the year, Vietnam imported more than 8.2 million tons of iron and steel, equivalent to more than 5.9 billion USD, a sharp increase of 48% in volume and 25% in value over the same period last year. The import price in June reached 727 USD/ton, down 17% compared to June 2023.
In terms of import markets, our country imported the most iron and steel from China with 5.7 million tons in the first 6 months of the year, equivalent to a turnover of more than 366 million USD, a sharp increase of 86% in volume and 59% in value compared to the same period in 2023. Import prices also recorded a decrease of 14% over the same period, reaching more than 641 USD/ton.
Ranked second among steel suppliers to Vietnam is Japan with 878,851 tons of iron and steel, equivalent to more than 878 million USD, down 2% in volume but up sharply 24% in value compared to the same period in 2023. The average import price reached 1,000 USD/ton, up sharply 27% over the previous year.
South Korea is the third largest supplier of iron and steel to Vietnam with 568,335 tons, worth more than 540 million USD, up 11% in volume but only nearly 1% in value over the same period last year. The import price reached 951 USD/ton, down 9% compared to 6M/2023.
Regarding domestic production, in 2020, output steel Vietnam's crude steel output reached 19.9 million tons, helping Vietnam rise to 14th place in the world and lead ASEAN in finished steel consumption with 23.3 million tons. By 2023, Vietnam will rise to 12th place in the world in crude steel production with an output of 20 million tons.
According to data from the General Department of Customs, in June alone, Vietnam imported 886,000 tons of hot-rolled coil (HRC), equal to 151% of domestic production. Notably, the amount of steel imported from China accounted for 77%. In general, in the first half of the year, the output of imported hot-rolled steel reached nearly 6 million tons, an increase of 32% over the same period in 2023. This import volume is equal to 173% of domestic production, of which the amount of steel imported from China accounted for 74%, the rest was from Korea, India, Japan, etc.
The value of HRC import turnover in the first 6 months reached 3.46 billion USD, of which China alone accounted for 2.5 billion USD. Regarding the price of imported HRC, imported products from China are very low, averaging 560 USD/ton, lower than the domestic offering price by about 15-20 USD/ton and lower than other countries by 45-108 USD/ton.
According to the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA), the demand for hot-rolled steel in Vietnam is about 12-13 million tons/year. The capacity of domestic factories is currently about 9 million tons. The massive influx of imported steel into Vietnam, with the import output at times being nearly 200% higher than domestic production, has caused businesses to lose their market share of hot-rolled steel sales to imports.
The market share of HRC sales of domestic enterprises such as Hoa Phat and Formosa decreased from 42% in 2021 to 30% in 2023 and is currently continuing to decline.
Steel industry experts also said that the Vietnamese steel industry, especially the production of high-quality steel and HRC steel, is quite disadvantaged, due to the previous context of not being able to produce domestically, so international agreements and commitments all have an import tax rate of 0%.
Faced with the situation of massive imports of hot-rolled steel coils at cheap prices, businesses and experts also said that relevant agencies should continue to build and perfect the system of technical management standards, quality management standards, technical barriers, and at the same time have reasonable defense measures, thereby preventing steel products that do not meet technical safety and environmental standards from flooding the Vietnamese market.
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