Vietnam imported nearly 1.5 million tons of steel billets and finished products totaling 842 million U. S. dollars in the first quarter of this year, posting year-on-year rises of 41.1 percent and 69.3 percent respectively, according to the country's General Statistics Office on Monday.

Vietnam imported 473,000 tons of steel billets, material for steel production, worth 204 million dollars in the first three months of this year, up 32.2 percent and 65.9 percent, respectively, the statistics office said.

Vietnam is predicted by the Vietnamese Trade Ministry to import, this year, over 2 million tons of steel billets at prices of 400- 420 dollars per ton, produce 2.3 million tons of steel billets, and consume some 4 million tons of construction steel, the statistics office added.

Vietnam imported over 5.6 million tons of steel billets and finished steel products totaling 2.9 billion dollars in 2006, up 1. 8 percent in volume but down 0.9 percent in value over 2005, it said.

Steel makers in the country had a combined annual production capacity of some 6 million tons by late last year, according the Vietnam Steel Association.

Source: Xinhua