Vietnam’s cement consumption stood at 25.07Mt in the first half of this year, fulfilling 46% of the sector’s full-year target. In June, the country used 3.93Mt of cement, the Ministry of Construction said on its website, giving no on-year comparative figure.

The Southeast Asian nation cement production stood at 4.01Mt in June, raising the country’s total production in the first six months to 25.33Mt, thus meeting 46.5% of the full-year target.

Vietnam spent US$273.46m on cement imports and reaped US$116.8m from cement exports during the Jan-Jun period, fulfilling 41.2% and 34.1% of the country’s 2011 targets, respectively.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Finance currently has proposed to raise export duties for cement and clinker exports to 5.3% and 5%, respectively, aiming to regulate the business profits, driven by the low prices of inputs.

The country’s cement consumption is forecast to reach between 54.5Mt-56Mt  this year, up 9-10% on year, respectively.