Vietnam's steel imports in first four months increased to an all-time record high, according to a statement issued on 12 June by the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA).

Vietnam imported 7.5 million tonnes of steel in the first four months of 2016, up 48% year-on-year, Kallanish notes. VSA says that Chinese steel accounted for some 60% of imports.

China exported 4.1mt of steel to Vietnam in the same period, according to Chinese customs data, up 50.5% compared with last year. The high imports were despite Vietnam's temporary safeguard duties of 23.3% on steel billets and 14.2% on long steel products since March.

Vietnam continues to have demand for steel products far greater than its capacity to produce, including hot-rolled steel, which Vietnam is as yet unable to make. Consequently, businesses across the country are forced to procure 8-9mt of hot-rolled steel annually from overseas sources to meet their production needs, VSA says.