As of December 2018, China is the world’s largest cement producer with a capacity of 1,484 million tons per year. It is followed by India and Vietnam, with 437 and 148 million tons per year, respectively, according to Global Cement.
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The main characteristic of Vietnamese cement industry is that it is dominated by domestic players, stated Viet Dragon Securities Company (VDSC) in its latest report.
Vietnam has 74 production plants in total, and almost all of them are controlled or owned by the government. Even though the plants have not worked at full capacity, potentials to produce cement in Vietnam is considered high. Although the designed capacity of Vietnam is 148 million tons per year, the actual production is much lower than that figure since the demand is much lower than supply, informed the report.
Total output (actual production) has gradually increased from 78 million tons in 2017 to 83 million tons in 2018, and total production in 2019 is estimated to reach nearly 90 million tons.
Until November 2018, China is Vietnam’s biggest export destination, with more than 7.6 million tons in volume and more than US$276 million in value. Bangladesh ranked second with nearly 6 million tons. In Southeast Asia, the Philippines is the most important importer with 5.5 million tons of cement in the January – October period.
In March 2017, Chinese policy makers considered cutting production of coal, steel, and cement by 10% to curb air pollution. Moreover, it also enabled a plan to prohibit the expansion of heavy industry capacity, including cement. Thus, Vietnamese producers expect to take advantage of the Chinese market.
Average selling price varies by country. Until November 2018, Southeast Asian countries have high import prices. Cambodia is importing cement from Vietnam at US$51.6 per ton while the Philippines pays US$46.4 per every imported ton. China, with its negotiating power, only spends US$36.3 to import one ton of cement from Vietnam.
