Iron and steel exports exceed 7 billion USD in 8 months

August is the second month in a row that iron and steel hit the export milestone of billion USD when the value increased 2.5 times over the same period, reaching nearly 1.5 billion USD.

According to data from the General Department of Customs, iron and steel is one of the export commodity groups with a turnover of billions of USD in August. Compared with July, the export of this item increased by nearly 34% and increased 2.5 times. compared to the same period in 2020. August is also the second consecutive month of iron and steel exports with export value exceeding 1 billion USD.

Generally for 8 months, the whole country exported 8.54 million tons of iron and steel of all kinds, worth nearly 7.1 billion USD, up 43.4% in volume and 127% in value over the same period in 2020. Iron products Currently, the main exported steel products are galvanized steel sheet (accounting for 50-70%), construction steel (10-15%), and other iron and steel.

Meanwhile, according to data from the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA), the export of construction steel products reached over 1 million tons after 8 months, up 28% over the same period in 2020.

The main export market is ASEAN with 2.7 million tons, China 1.8 million tons (down 13.2%). Notably, the export of this group of goods to the EU and US markets skyrocketed, reaching 1.43 million USD (up 7.5 times) and 540,000 tons (4 times higher) respectively compared to August 2020.

Producing iron and steel at the factory of Hoa Sen Group. Photo: Phuong Dong

According to the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA), iron and steel exports are favorable when demand in markets has increased for many months. Exports to the EU increased by 7.5 times over the same period thanks to the impact of the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) over the past year. Many businesses have taken advantage of opportunities from this agreement, boosting exports thanks to trade facilitation.

The EU is known as a market that requires products to meet high and strict standards. The increase in iron and steel exports to this market shows that Vietnamese enterprises have standardized production, satisfying the high requirements from the importing country.

According to VSA, Vietnam's crude steel production capacity (steel billet of all kinds) is currently about 24 million tons a year. Crude steel production output in 2021 is expected to reach about 21.2 million tons, enough to meet domestic demand and for export. Through 8 months, crude steel output reached over 13 million tons, up 23% over the same period.

Regarding domestic production and consumption , VSA's data shows that for construction steel, in August, production and sales volume decreased sharply. In which, construction steel production of enterprises in August was 713,000 tons, down 8% over the same period and sales decreased by nearly 40% in the same period, reaching nearly 560,000 tons. This index shows that steel enterprises face many difficulties in sales when many provinces and cities implement social distancing, the Covid-19 epidemic is complicated.

According to VSA, in the first eight months, construction steel consumption reached 6.6 million tons, equivalent to the sales volume of member enterprises in the same period in the first eight months of 2020.

Hoa Phat alone recorded a decrease in sales volume of construction steel in August by nearly 17%, reaching 268,000 tons. But accumulated in 8 months, this business sold nearly 2.5 million tons (up 16%). With this result, Hoa Phat's market share increased to 37%.

+ OTHER POST:

• Factories 'not afraid' to increase product prices by 20-30%, is China exporting inflation to the world?(02.11.2021)
• European supermarkets race to "beat the price", South American banana farmers are miserable(02.11.2021)
• Exports from Australia to China increase(01.11.2021)
• What factors help the VND/USD exchange rate in September continue to increase?(01.11.2021)
• Maritime enterprises, coal seaports(30.10.2021)
• The Ministry of Transport sets up a team to check seaport rates(30.10.2021)