Vietnam 2012 sales fall 3.5% YoY

Total cement sales in Vietnam (domestic plus exports) in 2012 fell 3.5 per cent YoY to 54Mt.

A recent update by the Vietnam Cement Association (VNCA) shows domestic sales were down 7.71 per cent YoY to 45.5Mt during the year as a frozen real estate market hurt local demand. Cement and clinker exports, however, rose by 30 per cent to 8.5Mt.

Vietnam’s cement sales are predicted to rise by 5-8 per cent YoY to 48-49Mt in 2013, equal to total sales of 2011.

With the country currently facing a number of challenges including a rising cement inventory, it must now deal with increasing exports, reducing costs and enterprise restructure, according to Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tran Nam.