Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (Vicem), the country’s leading cement producer, sold 16.32Mt of cement and clinker in the first nine months of this year, up 1.5 per cent from a year earlier.

Of the volume, 14.87Mt of cement and clinker were sold in domestic market, up 8.6 per cent YoY while 1.44Mt were exported, down 39.4 per cent, the corporation said on its website.

In the third quarter, Vicem sold 5.61Mt of clinker and cement, up 6.2 per cent YoY, of which 5.27Mt of cement and clinker were sold in domestic market, up 11 per cent YoY, and 337,000t were exported, falling 37 per cent.

Vicem targets to produce 4.42Mt and 5.45Mt of cement in the fourth quarter, down 0.8 per cent and 5.7 per cent YoY. The corporation also aims to sell 6.07Mt of cement in the fourth quarter, raising the full-year target to 22.39Mt.

Last year, Vicem’s clinker production edged up 0.7 per cent YoY to 16.5Mt while its cement output rose 10.3 per cent to 18.46Mt.