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Demand drives up cement price
The cement price is expected to increase slightly in the second quarter of the year due to rising demand, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).
Do Van Chien, Director of the MoIT's Viet Nam Trade and Information Centre, said the cement price would increase by 4-5 per cent this quarter.
Demand for cement is expected to reach about 11 million tonnes this quarter, an increase of more than 12 per cent compared with the first quarter.
Experts said rising demand for cement typically occurred at this time of year when the construction season kicked off.
However, the price is likely to remain stable because of oversupply.
"It's difficult for enterprises to increase prices because of the surplus," Chien said.
As a result of new cement production lines that are due to become operational this quarter, output is expected to rise 8.7 per cent to 12.5 million tonnes.
However, due to lack of regulation, a cement surplus in the north and a shortage in the south are expected this year, Chien said.
The PCB30 cement price currently stands at about VND897,000 – VND930,000 (US$42-$48) per tonne while that of PCB40 is about VND920,000 – PCB301.4 million ($48-$73) per tonne.
According to the Prices Control Department, in the first three months of this year, the country's cement production reached about 10 million tonnes, of which 3.4 million tonnes alone came from the Viet Nam Cement Industry Corporation.
In the same period, the cement price surged twice in January and February by 5 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively, due to rising input costs.
This year, total cement output is estimated to be 55 million tonnes, while consumption is just 50 million tonnes.
Last year, cement output reached 47.7 million tonnes, an increase of 19.2 per cent over 2008.
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