HANOI (XINHUA) – The steel demand in Vietnam is expected to keep falling due to the property market slump, tightened monetary policy and economic downturn in many export markets, local media reported on Friday.
With the property market remaining in a slump, prospects for 2023 remain gloomy, especially in the first half of the year, Vietnam News reported, citing local analysts.
The stagnant real estate market and tightened monetary policy would drag down steel demand this year, the newspaper said.
Analysts forecast domestic demand for finished steel products to decline in single-digit in 2023, with the acceleration in public spending possibly making up for the reduced demand from households.
Exports would recover slowly because of the global economic downturn, according to the newspaper.
Demand in the United States and European markets is expected to decline this year as a result of the economic downturn, but the Southeast Asian market is likely to remain steady, it said.
Vietnam’s exports to traditional trading partners could be affected by the capacity increase in recent years in neighbouring countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, it warned.
In 2022, Vietnam spent nearly USD12.1 billion importing more than 11.8 million tonnes of steel and iron, down 4.4-per-cent in volume but up 4.3-per-cent in value against 2021, according to its General Statistics Office.
The country reaped approximately USD7.9 billion from exporting roughly 8.3 million tonnes of the products last year, down 33.2-per-cent and 36.8-per-cent respectively year-on-year, said the office.
