Vietnam spent about $ 5.7 billion on imports of 8.4 million tons of steel and pig iron between January and July, down 2.4 percent in value and 4.5 percent higher in physical terms. compared to the same period last year.
In July alone, the country imported nearly 1.3 million tons of products worth $ 848 million, up 6.7 percent in volume, but down 3.9 percent in value compared to July 2018, the Friday Vietnam Steel Association.
The association reported that the Vietnamese metallurgical sector imports 90-95 percent of materials for production annually, including iron ores, scrap metal and coke oven fuel, mainly from China, South Korea and Japan.
Vietnam invested about US $ 9.9 billion in imports of approximately 13.6 million tonnes of steel and pig iron in 2018, down 9.6 percent in volume but 9 percent more than in 2017.
Meanwhile, the country received $ 4.6 billion from 6.3 million tonnes of steel products exports, while the corresponding growth was 44.8 percent and 33.5 percent, according to the Office of General Statistics.
