Thailand initiated an anti-dumping (AD) investigation on HRC steel imported from Vietnam and Egypt. Thai Commerce authorities initiated the probe following a plea by four domestic steelmakers including Sahaviriya Steel, Sahaviriya Plate Mill, G Steel and GJ Steel, according to local media.
Earlier in August, Thai authorities shocked Chinese exporters by levying 35.67pc AD duty on hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) coils and sheets from the country.
Thailand, along with other Asian countries like India, Pakistan, recorded a sharp recovery in the domestic auto steel demand which has boosted HRC sales. In October, Thailand’s automobile production rose by 2.24pc to 149,360 units from the year prior, according to the Federation of Thai Industries while sales recovered in October and was down by only 1.4pc from the prior October. The federation said easing of the pandemic restrictions increased vehicle sales.
Thailand is a net importer of steel and China and Japan are the major exporters of steel into the country.
Vietnam’s steel production
Steel production in Vietnam slipped by 0.4pc to 20.9mn mt for January-October from the prior year period, according to the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA). In October, production declined by 11.7pc to 2.4mn mt over October 2019, while steel exports increased by 16.5pc to 399,623mt, accounting for 22pc of total sales.