Vietnam, which currently imports 70 percent of steel billet it needs for steel production, will lessen the import because new local billet plants are operating, the Vietnam Steel Association told Xinhua on Wednesday.

Two plants with combined annual capacity of 700,000 tons will be in operation later this year, the association said, noting that the Phu My Steel Plant in southern Ba Ria Vung Tau province, which is running below its annual capacity of 500,000 tons of billets, will churn out more products in the future.

Vietnam imported 916,000 tons of steel billets worth 329 million U.S. dollars in the first half of this year, posting respective year-on-year decreases of 14.4 percent and 22.2 percent. It imported nearly 2.3 million tons of billets totaling 863 million dollars in 2005.

Prices of imported steel billets have increased to 430-440 dollars per ton now from below 400 dollars per ton in April, making prices of finished steel products in the Vietnamese market to stand at high levels of between 7.9 million Vietnamese dong ( VND) (nearly 496.9 dollars) and 8.3 million VND (522 dollars) per ton.

Prices of finished steel products in the domestic market will not climb to 9-10 million VND (566-628.9 dollars) per ton as many traders predicted, said the association's chairman Pham Chi Cuong.

Vietnam now has three state-owned steel enterprises, and over 20 joint venture and private steel firms, he said.

Source: Xinhua