A view of Long Son cement factory in the central province of Thanh Hoa. (Illustrative photo: VOV) Domestic cement sales were estimated at 64 million tons in 2018, representing an annual rise of around 7 per cent. During the first four months of 2019, cement consumption fell slightly, reaching only 98 per cent of the amount seen during the same period last year. According to the Vietnam Cement Association, state management agencies plan to stabilize the total cement and clinker exports for 2019 at some 32 million tons – the same as last year. Global cement exports have yet to reach 200 million tons per year while Vietnam tops the list of worldwide exporters with an annual contribution of approximately 30 million tons, accounting for one seventh of the world’s total. Amid international economic integration, the cement industry must make drastic changes to heighten its competitiveness. This can be achieved by creating joint ventures and attracting further foreign direct investment inflows. Controversy however remains over the future development of the local cement industry, whilst a big concern exists about the competitiveness of cement products, rather than export markets. In 2016, the price of Vietnamese clinker exports stood at US $28-29 per ton, but it climbed to US$40 by late 2017. It is noteworthy that small cement production lines still dominate the domestic production as 42 out of the 60 cement production lines nationwide have been installed with a designed capacity of 2,500 tons of clinker per day or less, yielding only… [Read full story]
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