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Steel supply set to fire up after Lunar New Year
A major steel producer, Vientiane Steel Industry Co Ltd, expects their steel supply to start increasing in February after the Chinese and Vietnamese New Year holiday.
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| Steel is piled up at a factory in Vientiane. |
“Steel is in short supply at the moment because many of the foundries are operated by Chinese and Vietnamese businesses which are taking a break and this is impacting on our supply,” Mr Sonesavanh Soukdala, a senior company official, said on Friday.
Currently the company is supplying only 20 to 30 tonnes each day. “But the supply will reach 50 to 80 tonnes each day from February to April,” Mr Sonesavanh said, saying there would be a high demand during that period, with many construction projects under way.
The company sells standard ‘grade A' steel for 7.8 million kip per tonne to dealers in Vientiane, while B grade steel is about 10 percent cheaper. “Five or six months ago steel was selling for about 7.9 million kip per tonne, up from 7.7 million kip per tonne last March,” he said.
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce's Price Planning and Marketing Division reported at the end of last month that grade A steel sold for 8 million kip and and B grade steel for 6.5 million kip per tonne in the Vientiane market. “The prices remain unchanged,” a division official said yesterday.
In Khammuan province the price varied from 6 million to 8 million kip per tonne depending on the grade.
In Champassak province, prices ranged from a very cheap 3 million kip up to 7.7 million kip per tonne. In Luang Prabang province they varied from 6 million to 7 million kip per tonne, and from 7 million to 8 million kip per tonne in Phongsaly province, the division reported last month.
The Vientiane Steel Industry Co Ltd, which is based in Hadxaifong district, imported raw steel in the form of billet for US$500 to US$600 per tonne in November 2010. The billet price rose to US$700 per tonne last March.
“Billet steel cost US$710 per tonne by the end of last month. This is a small change and we are still keeping the current steel price unchanged. The amount of raw material we import depends on the local market demand for steel,” Mr Sonesavanh said.
The company imports billet from Russia, India, Japan and Thailand. The factory opened in 1997. Vientiane is home to several steel factories including the Vientiane Steel Industry, a joint venture between investors from Laos and Hong Kong.
vientiane times
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