Vietnam sales set for seasonal surge

Vietnam sales set for seasonal surge
11 November 2009


Cement consumption in Vietnam this month is expected to increase by roughly 10 per cent over October thanks to rising demands during construction season, the Ministry of Finance’s Pricing Management Department forecast.

The department said that cement prices were also expected to surge in the wake of a 25 per cent hike in the cost of coal. The coal price hike was estimated to lift cement production costs by roughly 4.2-5 per cent.

According to the Viet Nam Cement Association, the country last month consumed 3.3Mt of cement, a 40,000t decrease over the previous month. The country meanwhile produced 3.6Mt of cement, up roughly 72,000t over the previous month.

Last month’s cement price had remained stable over the previous month, staying at between VND770,000 and VND940,000/t, the association said.

The association was predicting that cement consumption this year would increase by only 4-5 per cent over last year to about 44-45Mt.

Viet Nam Cement Corporation deputy director Tran Viet Thang said that cement supplies were currently about 3Mt in excess of demand, a surplus that could reach 5Mt by the end of the year.

The trend should continue through next year as new cement plants came on line, Thang said, adding that the Viet Nam Cement Association had estimated that the country would consume roughly 48-50Mt of cement next year.
Published under Cement News