Vietnamese cement consumption falls 27% in July

Cement consumption in Vietnam came in at 5.95Mt in July 2022, down 27 per cent compared to July 2021, according to data from the Department of Building Materials under the Ministry of Construction. Domestic consumption in July reached 4.85Mt while exports stood at around 1.1Mt.

For the first seven months of 2022, cement consumption was an estimated 54.99Mt, a decline of 17 per cent YoY, with domestic consumption down three per cent over the same period to 36.84Mt. According to the Department of Building Materials, Vietnam’s inventory is approximately 5.9Mt, equal to 25-30 days of production, says Vietnam Economy News.

Exports over the 7M22 are estimated at 18.15Mt, marking a YoY contraction of 30 per cent. The two leading markets for Vietnam’s cement exports, China and the Philippines, have both reduced imports from Vietnam’s suppliers in the opening half of 2022. This is being blamed on China’s ongoing ‘zero-COVID’ policy and its declining real estate sector, while the Philippines’ market has been hit by high shipping costs.

Between March and the end of July 2022, Vietnam’s cement producers had to increase selling prices three times to counter the rise in input costs. At the end of June, domestic selling prices stood at VND60,000-VND80,000/t (US$2.57-3.43/t), primarily due to rising coal prices. However, according to the Vietnam National Cement Association, these increases have not yet offset the soaring input costs, forcing some producers to suspend clinker grinding units as the more they produce, the more they lose.