Total steel sales of members in the Vietnam Steel Association hit 2.5 million tons in the first three months of this year, an increase of 25 percent over the same period last year.
Steel consumption improved as real estate market has warmed up while macro-economy shows signs of recovery. However, steel was mostly consumed domestically as steel exports merely touched 92,000 tons, up 11 percent compared to the same period last year, accounting for 8 percent of total steel sales.
Economic experts said that in the future when free trade agreements are implemented widely, local steel market will suffer certain effects. Therefore, local steel producers should be ready in order to cope with them. Especially, authorities should tighten quality control on imported steel and carry out measures in order to protect domestically-made products. In addition, local producers should also improve their technology and enhance managerial skills as well as competitive ability in the context of global economic integration.
