China becomes Vietnam's third biggest steel exporter

China's steel now accounts for 14 percent of Vietnam's total steel imports, which secures China's position as the third largest steel exporter to the country after Japan and Russia.

The imported steel from China made up only 5.7 percent of Vietnam's total steel imports in the first quarter of 2004.

Vietnam spent 160 million US dollars importing China steel in the first eight months of this year, the Vietnam News reported on Tuesday.

Now, Chinese enterprises sell rolled steel to Vietnam for 480-500 dollars per ton, 50-70 dollars lower than European companies. Their billet prices are also 20 dollars lower per ton than those offered by Russian and Ukraine firms.

China's many advantages, including low labor cost, abundant resources and advanced technologies, have enabled it to turn out steel of equal quality at a lower price than other countries.

Vietnam imported 3 million tons of steel products and billets worth more than 1.4 billion dollars, mostly from China, Russia, Ukraine and Malaysia in the first eight months of this year, down 3.4 percent in volume, but up 25 percent in value over the same period last year. Specifically, it spent 498 million dollars importing steel billets in the period, year-on-year rises of 51.5 percent and 8.3 percent respectively.

Vietnam imported 4.6 million tons of billets and steel products valued at nearly 1.7 billion dollars in 2003, down 7.4 percent in volume, but up 24.1 percent in value against 2002. It is expected to consume 6-6.5 million tons of finished steel this year.

Source: Xinhua