
Displaying items by tag: Vietnam Building Material Association
Vietnam: Nguyễn Quang Cung, vice chairman of the Vietnam Building Material Association, says that local industry cement exports grew strongly in the first quarter of 2018 due to Chinese cement plants shutting down because of pollution and power shortages. He made the comments at the Vietbuild conference, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper. Local cement production rose by 18% year-on-year in the first quarter and exports rose by 68%.
Cung said that the Chinese government ordered the closure of a series of cement plants from 15 November 2017 to 15 March 2018 due to environmental concerns and a shortage of electricity during the winter. These circumstances turned China, the global clinker exporter in 2016, into an importer of cement at the end of 2017. It has mainly imported clinker from Vietnam, at a volume of 1.5Mt/month. Vietnam’s clinker exports ‘skyrocketed’ in 2017 due to this.
The association expected the country to export 15Mt of clinker in 2017 but it exported nearly 21Mt instead. It also anticipates that plant closures in China will increase in 2018.
Production continues to soar in February 2018 in Vietnam
13 March 2018Vietnam: 7.62Mt of cement was sold in Vietnam in February 2018, a year-on-year rise of 38%, according to the Vietnam Building Material Association. Of the sum, 5.02Mt were sold domestically, an 11% rise from a year earlier. This included 1.96Mt sold by Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (VICEM). 2.60Mt of cement were exported, a 30% rise year-on-year.
In January and February 2018, Vietnam sold 18.6Mt of cement, 85% more than in the first two months of 2017. It exported 5.5Mt in the same period, a 121% rise year-on-year. In just two months, the country has produced 22.9% of its whole year target as local demand continues to be outpaced by supply. The country faces a glut of 25 - 36Mt/yr of cement by 2020 if current production and consumption trends continue unabated.
Vietnam cement sales rise by 6% to 59Mt in first nine months of 2017
27 September 2017Vietnam: The Vietnam Building Material Association estimates cement sales rose by 5% year-on-year to 59Mt in the first nine months of 2017. This represented 74% of its annual target, according to the Việt Nam News newspaper. 45Mt of cement was sold domestically, an increase of 4%, and 14Mt was exported. Cement production capacity is 86Mt/yr but demand is estimated at 60Mt/yr. The country is predicted to face a surplus of 26Mt in 2017, according to the Vietnam Cement Association.
Vietnam cement exports set to fall in 2016
12 December 2016Vietnam: The Vietnam Building Material Association has predicted that revenue from cement exports is set to fall by 7% year-on-year to US$556m in 2016 from around 15Mt of cement and clinker. In the first 11 months of the year the country’s export volumes fell by 5.93% to 14Mt/yr. The decline has been blamed on competition from foreign companies inlcuding those in China, India, Pakistan and Thailand. The association also blamed the high cost of exports.
Vietnam cement producers lost US$80m in 2012
12 April 2013Vietnam: Cement producers in Vietnam lost at least US$80m in 2012 in a bid to undercut each other, according to Tran Van Huynh, Chairman of Vietnam Building Material Association. Huynh made the comment as he warned that producers face 'huge' losses from attempts to clear surplus inventory by exporting cement and clinker. In 2012 local firms incurred losses of between US$8 - 10/t of exports.
Huynh asked local cement producers to cooperate instead of undercutting each other to keep export prices above domestic ones. He also recommended that the Vietnam Cement Association set reasonable export prices as well as help firms penetrate large markets.
Due to cement output exceeding demand, the Ministry of Construction has requested local cement firms to seek further export markets. However, local producers face difficulties in exporting cement due to poor infrastructure, high transport costs and a lack of competitiveness. In addition Vietnam lacks ports capable of docking ships over 50,000t that are necessary to carry goods to distant overseas markets.
Vietnam is predicted to face a huge cement inventory of 14 – 15Mt by 2015. By that time the country's cement output will reach 90Mt whilst demand is estimated to be 75 – 76Mt.