Vietnam’s Demand for Pre-Painted Steel (PPGI)Soars as Costs Rise 10% – Diversified Imports, Including Chinese Steel, Offer Relief

Vietnam’s coated steel coil market is under pressure from surging demand and rising input costs nowadays. Domestic production of hot-rolled coil surpassed 22 million tonnes in early 2025 which statistic were according to VSA. At the same time, Vietnam’s government has imposed anti-dumping duties ranging from 19% to 37% on steel imports from China and Korea, which creating a more protective trade environment for local mills. These measures have led to tightened supply in the short term for the whole market.

However, the increasing demand from construction, appliance manufacturing, and industrial output, has pushed local mills to operate at full capacity. And as production scales up based on that, it has coincided with a roughly 10% rise in the cost of key raw materials such as iron ore, zinc, and coking coal. Those conditions bring additional pressures from logistics bottlenecks and rising electricity prices are further compressing margins across the supply chain to local manufactures.

To ease these constraints, many Vietnamese firms are turning to Chinese color coated steel—valued for its consistent quality, flexible order sizes, and fast lead times. Although some imports are taxed, niche specifications and high-grade coils are increasingly considered suitable supplements. With raw materials becoming more and more expensive and local mills operating near full capacity, importing high-quality steel from China is emerging as one viable solution to restore supply balance and reduce production risk.

Industry observers note that importing from China can help fill urgent gaps, especially for short-term projects, and avoid costly production delays caused by raw material shortages at home.

Local producers like Hoa Phat and Formosa Ha Tinh are upgrading internal systems and managing costs, but imports are becoming a parallel buffer strategy. Given the expected continuation of strong demand in H2 2025, diversified sourcing is seen as a key to market stability.

There are some recommendations from Vietnam Steel Association to this occasion:

1.Encouraging diversified procurement, including cost-effective imports from trusted sources like China.
2.Publishing monthly demand forecasts, to support proactive production planning.
3.Investing in advanced coating technologies, to increase self-sufficiency and reduce reliance on imports over the long term.