The domestic consumption of cement in the first eight months bouncedback to a sustainable status, which is being seen a relief for producerswith surplus inventories.

Chairman of Vietnam CementAssociation Nguyen Quang Cung told Thoi Bao Ngan Hang (Banking Times)newspaper, "Cement plants are likely to run at full throttle."

Chairmanof Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (Vicem) Luong Quang Khai saidthat his company's inventory has dramatically fallen. As of August 31,the total inventory was equal to 14 production days.

The Vissai Cement Group shared the same opinion, saying the market demand was better than two years ago.

"Wehaven't got detailed statistics, but the production was generally goodin the first eight months," Nguyen Vu Thanh, Vissai Cement Group'sdeputy general director, added.

According to the Ministry ofConstruction, August marked the first consecutive month when cementsales reached five to six million tonnes. Companies in Vietnam sold42.53 million tonnes of cement in the first eight months of this year,up 8 percent year on year, meeting 68.6 percent of the year's target.

Ofthe total, 32.85 million tonnes of cement were sold at the domesticmarket, up 7 percent year on year, while 9.68 million tonnes wereexported, an increase of 9 percent year on year.

In August, thecountry's cement sales rose 2 percent from the previous month and 3percent year on year to 5.29 million tonnes, despite the rainy season.Exports accounted for 1.1 million tonnes of this total, rising 12percent month on month.

In September, the country's cement salesare expected to increase slightly as many construction projects willrestart. The recovery of the real estate market will also contribute tothe growth of the cement sector.

"Vietnam has many advantages incement production and exports, including abundant raw materials,mountains that make up three-fourths of the country's total area andlong coastlines with ports systems, which are convenient for exports,"Cung said, adding that cement exports will be a good business choicefrom now till 2025 or even 2030.

Many Asian countries have beenexporting huge volumes of cement for a good number of years. Among them,Thailand and Japan have been exporting cement for decades.

Cungsaid that the competition in cement exports was not only in marketshares but also in pricing. Many of Vietnam's exports are priced lowerthan that of other countries, such as rice which is cheaper than that ofThailand.

The current cement export prices fluctuate around 50USD to 55 USD per tonne, and are lower – below 10 percent – than that ofseveral countries in the region.-VNA