Vietnam became China's largest steel export destination in 2023

Vietnam’s steel imports from China rose significantly by 69.5% to 9.249 million tons. However, Vietnam's total steel imports only increased by 14.1% annually, reaching 13.3 million tons. This indicates a decrease of approximately 1 million tons in imports from other countries. 

Due to weak domestic demand and high production costs, local steel producers in Vietnam generally tend to reduce production. During the January-November period, Vietnam's crude steel production decreased by 7% annually to approximately 17.3 million tons. Consumption also saw a yearly decrease of 2% to about 16.9 million tons. 

The significant increase mentioned above was balanced, particularly by exports reaching 11.13 million tons in 2023, marking a yearly increase of 32.6%.