Vietnamese steelmaker Hoa Phat’s sales in July stood at 300,000mt, a rise of 25.7pc from the prior-year period. Sales also trended up by 19pc from June.
In the period, Hoa Phat exported 53,500mt of steel, nearly twice the volume from July 2019.
The mill’s output in the southern region was two-fold compared to that in July 2019 at 75,000mt, says the company in a statement.
Hoa Phat states consumption in the domestic construction sector drove most of the demand. Amid COVID-19, the Vietnamese government looks to promote public investment which in turn encouraged steel demand. Infrastructure projects such as the North-South expressway project, repairing and upgrading runways of international airports, hospital buildings, and many others have spurred demand for metals.
In the Jan-July period, the steelmaker has supplied 1.81mn mt of finished construction steel in Vietnam’s domestic market, a rise of 14.5pc from the prior-year period. Steel products exported in the period amounted to 256,500mt, up by 73.3pc from 2019. Export demand was mainly generated by countries like Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Australia, Canada, Thailand, and Cambodia.