due to the government's tireless efforts to accelerate the implementation of public investment and key transport infrastructure projects, as well as the approval of many industrial and urban infrastructure projects.
At the same time, cement producers are trying to expand into other markets, turning to several countries such as the United States, Australia, North America, South America and Africa to reduce their dependence on China. However, some Vietnamese cement and clinker importers continue to implement policy and technical trade barriers to protect the local cement industry, the Vietnam Cement Association said. In particular, the Philippines, the largest importer, will continue to impose provisional anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese cement products. At the same time, strict markets such as Europe have implemented carbon reduction mechanisms. Therefore, the association urges enterprises to promote trade promotion activities to gain more export opportunities. Some businesses have won export orders to the United States, a selective market with high standards, it added. This is a positive sign for the industry this year. Cement companies need to focus on technological innovation, invest in deep renovation, efficient use of energy, and develop sustainable development solutions to reduce production costs and improve competitiveness to meet increasingly high environmental standards in the international market, according to trade experts. For their part, cement manufacturers have petitioned the authorities to develop policies to support the development of the industry. Domestic cement consumption in the first quarter will be at its lowest level since the third quarter of 2021, the COVID-19 lockdown period, due to seasonal factors such as the Lunar New Year holiday and weak demand,
SSI Securities said in its latest report on the outlook for Vietnam's cement industry in 2024. However, starting from the second quarter, cement sales volume may see a small recovery due to the resumption of construction activity. In addition, major public investments could offset weak demand during 2024. Export declines
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2023 The country exported more than 2.53 million tons of cement and clinker worth nearly $98 million in December, up 0.9% in volume, but exports fell 3% from the previous month, according to statistics from the General Administration of Customs. In 2023, the total export volume of clinker and cement reached 31.3 million tons, the export volume exceeded 1.32 billion US dollars, the annual output decreased by 1.2%, and the export volume decreased by 4.1%. Last year, the Philippines remained the largest importer of cement and clinker from Vietnam, accounting for 27% of the country's exports. It was followed by Bangladesh (17%) and Malaysia (5.2%).
Manufacturers blamed the drop in exports on low imports from China (down 90% year on year), as the country's housing market showed no signs of improvement. In addition, Vietnam's cement and clinker exports are also facing fierce competition from other competitors such as the Philippines and Bangladesh. Producers said they also faced challenges in the domestic market, as local cement consumption fell 7% year-on-year to nearly 90 million tonnes.
Vicem Ha Tien JSC said its pre-tax profit reached VND54.3bn in the fourth quarter of 2023, down 6% from the same period last year. In 2023, the company's revenue plunged 21% year-on-year to more than VND 7 trillion. Profits also fell 32% to more than 604 billion Dong, congthuong. VN reported.
According to the online newspaper, this is the lowest profit level among the leading companies in the cement manufacturing industry in the past 10 years. In order to help the cement industry overcome the current difficulties, the Building Materials Department of the Ministry of Construction suggested that ministries, agencies and localities continue to accelerate public investment projects and infrastructure construction in accordance with the approved plan. According to the report, this will benefit the consumer market of building materials, including cement.
Cement producers themselves should innovate technologies to use energy efficiently and use waste as fuel to replace coal, thereby reducing production costs and increasing competitiveness.
