Tiếng ViệtIt is forecasted that 2015 will continue to be a difficult time for domestic steel enterprises due to output exceeding demand and imported steel from Russia and China putting pressure on the domestic market.
According to people working in the steel industry, cheap alloy steel containing the element Boron from China is still massively imported, many types of steel are in a situation of oversupply in the country, and steel from the Russian market is also waiting to be imported. entering Vietnam under the preferential tariff schedule, steel manufacturing enterprises will continue to have a difficult year.
Talking with Saigon Economic Times Online today (December 16), Mr. Do Duy Thai, General Director of Vietnam Steel Corporation, affirmed that in the coming time, if the import tax on steel from Russia to Vietnam is reduced according to the agreement, According to the Vietnam Free Trade Agreement – Customs Union (VCUFTA), domestic steel manufacturers will certainly be in more trouble.
Steel from Russia…
According to Mr. Thai’s analysis, the possibility of increasing Russian steel imports into Vietnam is very likely because Russia has long had an advantage in steel production, with a total output ranking 5th globally (more than 70 million tons/year). ) with low production costs, abundant local raw materials, higher technology than Vietnam…
According to Mr. Ho Nghia Dung, Chairman of the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA), for a long time steel from Russia imported into Vietnam is mainly steel plates, steel sheets, shaped steel… which cannot be produced domestically, but almost none. There is steel construction.
There is also an opinion that Vietnamese steel manufacturers should not be too worried about steel imported from Russia because currently Russian steel entering Vietnam only accounts for about 6% of Vietnam’s imported steel. If taxes are reduced, it is expected to This rate will only increase from 10 to 12%.
However, according to Mr. Do Duy Thai’s opinion, due to the fluctuations in the value of the Russian currency (ruble) plus the advantages from the free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Customs Union of Russia – Belarus – Kazakshtan It is clear that the possibility of Russian steel being imported more massively and suffocating domestic businesses is something that will happen soon.
… And from China
Meanwhile, another not-so-small difficulty that domestic steel manufacturers are facing at this time is having to compete with construction steel imported from China. Only cheap alloy steel containing the element Boron from China to Vietnam is still increasing dramatically, estimated to be up to 550,000 – 600,000 tons in 2014.
In a document sent to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology at the end of November 2014, VSA Chairman Ho Nghia Dung had to speak up: “After more than 5 months of implementation, the steel association realized The implementation of Circular 44 on the import of cheap alloy steel containing the element Boron has not been effectively implemented.”
Mr. Dung said that with the Chinese Government’s policy on VAT refund on exported alloy steel products (from 7 – 13%), it is likely that the amount of steel wire rods containing boron imported into Vietnam will still increase in the coming years. next year.
According to statistics, in the first 11 months of 2014, Vietnam imported steel of all kinds up to 10.52 million tons, up 21.1% over the same period last year.
In November, on the world market, steel material prices continued to tend to decrease, with fewer transactions. For example, steel scrap decreased by 5 – 10 USD/ton compared to the end of October; Steel billet prices offered in the Southeast Asian market also decreased by 10 – 20 USD/ton compared to the end of October…
Add steel pressure in water
Thus, with the continuous decrease in prices of input materials in the world and the increasing amount of imported steel, most domestic steel enterprises are forced to reduce selling prices. Enterprises in the North reduced by 200,000 – 350,000 VND/ton, in the South reduced by about 100,000 VND/ton and increased discounts to promote product consumption in the market.
According to VSA, currently the total production capacity of Vietnam’s steel industry is up to 22 million tons, including construction steel (10.8 million tons/year); welded steel pipes (2.11 million tons); galvanized steel of all kinds (4 million tons); cold rolled steel sheet (4.8 million tons) … Most types of steel have capacity and output that exceeds double the domestic demand. Vietnam still has to import some types of steel that cannot be produced domestically such as hot rolled steel sheets, alloy steel…
VSA forecasts that in 2015 domestic steel consumption demand will not increase much: construction steel will reach nearly 5.97 million tons (up 8% compared to 2014); steel pipes reached 1.36 million tons (up 15%); galvanized steel reached 3.25 million tons (up 15%); cold rolled steel sheet reached 3 million tons (up 15%). Overall, VSA forecasts that the steel industry in 2015 will have a growth rate of 11.8% compared to 2014.
To overcome difficulties for the domestic steel industry in the coming time, VSA recently proposed that functional ministries continue to review steel projects to eliminate ineffective investment projects and avoid rampant investment. causing an imbalance in domestic steel supply and demand.
