Local cold-rolled steel makers have been boosting their sales in thedomestic market to offset a decline in outbound sales caused by therecent anti-dumping accusations, the Saigon Times Daily reported.

Salesof welded steel pipes of local producers in the domestic market roseremarkably compared to a decline of 19 percent or 18,200 tonnes in theirexports in the first six months this year, according to the VietnamSteel Association (VSA).

For instance, sales in the local marketof Nam Kim Steel (NKG) and Hoa Sen Group as of June 2014 had soared 127percent (11,933 tonnes) and 117 percent (53,922 tonnes) year on yearrespectively.

In addition, consumption of steel products on thelocal market accounted for 84 percent of the total quantity sold bysteel makers in the same period.

On the other hand, there werechanges in market shares of local steel producers in the first sixmonths of this year, according to VSA.

Vietnam Steel Corporation(VnSteel) and its joint-venture enterprises gained market share of 47percent in 2013, but their combined market share tumbled to 41.7 percentin this year’s first half.

Meanwhile, other firms aside fromVnSteel, which occupied the remaining 52.4 percent last year, saw theircombined market share shooting up to 58.2 percent this year.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam’s total steelconsumption recorded a slight increase in the first half of this year.

Statisticsfrom the ministry show that in the reviewed period, the consumption ofrolled steel reached 1.72 million tonnes, a year-on-year rise of 25.4percent, while 1.74 million tonnes of steel sheets and bars were sold,up 7.4 percent.

Raw steel consumption saw a decrease of 2.9 percent to nearly 1.4 million tonnes.-VNA