Nearly 15 million tons of foreign steel landed, Vietnam spent more than tens of billions of USD

Nearly 15 million tons of steel of all kinds were imported to the Vietnamese market in the first 10 months of 2024, worth up to 10.48 billion USD. The steel import output in 10 months exceeded the 13.3 million tons imported last year.

Nearly 15 million tons of foreign steel landed, Vietnam spent more than tens of billions of USD

Nearly 15 million tons of steel of all kinds were imported to the Vietnamese market in the first 10 months of 2024, worth up to 10.48 billion USD. The steel import output in 10 months exceeded the 13.3 million tons imported last year.

October 2024 was a record month for steel imports, with 2.41 million tons, worth 1.51 billion USD.

Imported steel has continuously flooded the Vietnamese market since the beginning of the year. According to the General Department of Customs' statistics on imported goods in the past 10 months, imports of iron and steel of all kinds have increased sharply, being one of the 7 groups of imported goods exceeding 10 billion USD.

October also marked a month with record import volume, with 2.41 million tons, worth 1.51 billion USD, up 55.9% in volume and 41.7% in value compared to the previous month.

In the first 10 months of 2024, the total import volume of iron and steel reached 14.71 million tons with a value of 10.48 billion USD, a sharp increase of 38.2% in volume and 23.2% in value.

Notably, the amount of iron and steel imported from China has increased dramatically. In the past 10 months, imports of all kinds of iron and steel from China increased to 10.16 million tons, up 58.9% (equivalent to an increase of 3.77 million tons) with a value of 6.37 billion USD, up 43.2%.

Steel coils, steel plates, galvanized steel, steel bars and steel wires… are the most imported items.

The number of steel imports from China in the first 10 months has far exceeded the import level of the whole of last year. In 2023, the amount of steel imported from China to Vietnam reached 8.2 million tons, equivalent to more than 5.6 billion USD, accounting for 62% of the total volume and 54% of the total value of steel imports of our country.

The second largest steel import market is Japan, reaching 1.7 million tons, up 4.6% (equivalent to an increase of 75,000 tons); from Korea reaching 1.05 million tons, up 15.3% (equivalent to an increase of 139,000 tons) over the same period last year.

With a total volume of 12.91 million tons, the above 3 markets account for 87.76% of the total volume of imported iron and steel in the country.

Compared to the 7.96 billion USD in export revenue over the past 10 months, Vietnam is having a trade deficit of 3.1 billion USD in iron and steel.

The Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) forecasts that Vietnam's finished steel production in 2024 could reach 30 million tons, up 7% compared to 2023. However, this recovery is uncertain and steel enterprises still face many difficulties.

One of the main reasons is that China continues to increase steel exports, making it difficult for Vietnamese steel producers to sell, which means the price competition for finished steel products in the domestic market is becoming increasingly fierce.

According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, the country's steel exports in September 2024 alone reached over 10.15 million tons, up 6.9% over the previous month and up sharply by 25.9% over the same period.

The increase in exports was mainly due to weak domestic demand, especially in the construction and manufacturing sectors, forcing manufacturers to seek foreign customers.

In the first 9 months of 2024, China's steel export output increased by 21.2% year-on-year to 80.7 million tons. Although export output increased sharply, export turnover decreased by 5% year-on-year in 2023, showing that China's steel export prices are very competitive.

China's rapid increase in exports of cheap steel products to many regional markets over the past two years has increased protectionism around the world . China's stainless steel alone is subject to more than 102 trade defense tariffs worldwide, including Vietnam.

Faced with the overwhelming influx of imported steel, especially the sudden increase from some markets, in an effort to protect the domestic manufacturing industry, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has used trade defense tools. Specifically, on July 26, 2024, the Ministry issued Decision No. 1985/QD-BCT on the investigation and application of anti-dumping measures on some hot-rolled steel products originating from India and China.

The decision to investigate was based on a request filed by domestic manufacturers under the provisions of the Foreign Trade Management Law, alleging that hot-rolled steel manufacturers from India and China were dumping the product into Vietnam, causing damage to the domestic manufacturing industry.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/gan-15-trieu-tan-thep-ngoai-do-bo-viet-nam-tieu-ton-hon-chuc-ty-usd-d230479.html