[Ferro-Alloys.com] Vietnam exported over 400,000 tonnes of construction steel in the third quarter of 2020, increasing by 4 percent and 37 percent compared to the first and second quarters, respectively, according to the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA).

Notably, the export volume of hot rolled steel reached over 270,000 tonnes, rising by over 330 percent from the first quarter.

As many as 2.7 million tonnes of construction steel were sold in the reviewed period, up 19 percent and 6 percent against the first and second quarters, despite a drop in output, VSA said.

Other products such as hot and cold rolled steel, galvanized and colour-coated steel sheets, and steel pipes all recorded stable growths in both sales and exports.

Steel output in the first three quarters of the year down 1.7 percent year on year to 18.5 million tonnes.

Meanwhile, steel sales in the period reached 16.5 million tonnes, a decrease of 4.3 percent year on year, including over 3.2 million tonnes exported, down 8.6 percent.

Vietnam spent 5.43 billion USD on importing 9.35 million tonnes of steel in the first eight months of the year, down 13 percent in value and 3 percent in volume compared to the same period last year.

In the period, ASEAN and China remained the key export markets of Vietnamese steel products, with export turnovers hitting 1.44 billion USD and 844 million USD, respectively.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the construction steel sales are predicted to recover in the remaining months of 2020 after a fall in the January-August period due to impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic./.VNA

• [Editor:kangmingfei]