Vietnam Jan-Nov 2012 production declines

Vietnam produced 51.3Mt of cement in the first 11 months of this year, down 5.4 per cent from a year earlier, the General Statistics Office said.

The country’s cement output in November is estimated to have increased by nine per cent YoY to 5.3Mt, the government-run office said in a monthly report released Monday.

The office revised the country’s cement production in the first 10 months to 46Mt from the earlier estimate of 46.5Mt.

In the first 10 months, Vietnam had around 2.6Mt of cement in inventory, equivalent to 15-18 days of production, the Ministry of Construction (MoC) said.

The country’s cement industry is struggling to ease its inventory as the real estate market remains gloomy.
Meanwhile, six other cement plants with a total capacity of 6.72Mta are expected to be operational next year despite the current cement surplus.

Analysts predicted that the cement surplus will persist in the coming years if the government does not take bold measures to stimulate demand and review the current cement projects.

According to the MoC, Vietnam’s cement sales are forecast to reach between 55Mt and 56.5Mt this year, rising by 11-12 per cent YoY.