Italy remains Vietnam's largest iron and steel import market, with export turnover of approximately $299 million in the past three months. Vietnamese iron and steel exports in March reached nearly 1.1 million tonnes with a turnover of over $834.8 million, marking a 10% increase in volume and an 11.4% increase in value compared to the previous month. In the first quarter of the year, local iron and steel exports earned close to $2.4 billion with over 3.23 million tonnes, up 42% in volume and 40.1% in value compared to the same period last year. Italy was the largest importer of iron and steel from Vietnam, earning nearly $299 million with 483 thousand tonnes, an increase of 80.4% in volume and 64.2% in value compared to the same period in 2023. The United States and Cambodian markets followed Italy, with total export values in the first quarter standing at $399.6 million and $182.8 million, respectively. Iron and steel exports to Singapore also saw sudden growth, reaching 42,190 tonnes with a turnover of over $23 million in March.
The Philippines represents Vietnam's largest market for cement and clinker consumption, reaching nearly 2 million tons worth US$81.56 million, accounting for 26.8% of the nation's total cement and clinker export turnover during the past three months. Vietnam exported more than 8.03 million tons of cement and clinker, earning close to US$304.1 million, up 2.3% in volume but down 9.6% in turnover compared to the same period from last year. Cement and clinker exports to the Philippine market inched up by 2.3% in volume, but dropped by 6.9% in turnover and 9% in price compared to last year’s corresponding period. Cement and clinker exports to Bangladesh reached 2.22 million tons valued at US$69.23 million, while the Malaysian market accounted for 5.3% of the total volume and 4.7% of the total turnover, with more than 423,000 tons, equivalent to US$14.37 million. Cement and clinker exports in 2024 will continue to face difficulties as the Chinese real estate market has not yet shown signs of recovery, while Chinese cement is also in surplus and is expected to compete with Vietnamese cement at export markets such as the Philippines, Central America, and South Africa. Domestic cement output will continue to exceed demand this year, with the domestic market predicted to consume roughly 60 - 62 million tons. Some businesses are currently expanding their markets, shifting to regions such as the US, Australia, North America, South America, and Africa in order to reduce dependence on some traditional markets. Cement and clinker exports suffered a sharp fall in the first quarter of 2024 due to China’s reduced imports. The Philippine market still applies anti-dumping tax protection policies on cement imported from Vietnam. [2b9cd8bc], [9219b1da]
