[Ferro-Alloys.com] Vietnam's consumption of steel products, especially colour-coated steel, declined in October while production continued to rise, according to the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA).

The VSA said construction steel production of its members reached 914,520 tonnes in October, up 10.05 percent compared to September and similar to to the same period in 2018. However, consumption reached 867,356 tonnes, up 9.42 percent compared to September but down 3.2 percent compared to the same period last year.

Exports declined 18.8 percent compared to the same period in 2018 to 130,158 tonnes. In recent years exports of corrugated iron products had been on the rise. The decrease in consumption and increased production had caused problems for many enterprises, forcing them to lay off employees.

As of September 30, Vietnam had exported more than 5.95 million tonnes of finished and semi-finished products, up 3.9 percent in volume over the same period in 2018 but down 8 percent in value, reaching over 3.9 billion USD.

According to the VSA, while exports fell sharply, imports had continued to increase year by year. As of September 30, imports of finished and semi-finished steel products reached more than 12 million tonnes, and total import turnover reached more than 8.2 billion USD. Most imported products came from China, Japan, Republic of Korea (RoK), China’s Taiwan and India. (Vietnamplus)

• [Editor:kangmingfei]