Nghe An construction materials market has a sharp price drop at the end of the year but is still sluggish

Sharp price reduction of sand, bricks... still sluggish

In Nghia Dong commune, Tan Ky district, along the Con river, there are many sand-filled wharves but no one comes to buy.

A sand dock owner in Nghia Dong commune shared: “Tan Ky sand and gravel are popular with customers because of their even, beautiful grains and high cleanliness. During the construction season, sand here is often sold out, but for the past few months, cars have been coming in to buy in small quantities, our sand dock has over 8,000 ^m3 of unsold sand, resulting in the whole production line having to stop and workers having no jobs.”

Although the price of sand at some sand ports in Tan Ky has decreased from 180,000 VND/ ^m3 to 100,000 VND/ ^m3 , no one has come to buy it. In Do Luong, Thanh Chuong and Anh Son districts, the construction sand market has also decreased from 85,000 VND/ ^m3 to 70,000 VND/ ^m3 , but there are still few customers, the exploitation is left in stock, some mines have had to temporarily stop or operate at a low level.

Large sandbanks in Tan Ky district at the end of the year. Photo: Van Truong

Similar to sand, construction brick products are also in stock. Tan Ky has 4 brick factories that currently have a lot of stock. Some brick factories have had to stop operations for the past few months because there are no more warehouses to store their products.

A representative of Tan Ky Tunnel Brick and Tile Factory said that the unit has 2 brick factories in Ky Son and Tan Long communes. Due to the lack of sales over the past 4 months, there are over 20 million bricks in stock. Currently, the brick factory in Ky Son commune has temporarily stopped operating for 2 months; the brick factory in Tan Long commune will continue to stop operating until January 30, 2024. Over 400 workers of the 2 factories are forced to take turns off work, operating at a standstill.

In Tan Ky district, there are still many brick products in stock. Some brick production units have had to temporarily stop operations for many months now because there is no more space to store the products.

Mr. Nguyen Van Quyen, owner of a construction materials business in Dien Thai commune (Dien Chau) said: Compared to the same period last year, the purchasing power of most construction materials of our agency such as cement, iron, steel... has decreased sharply, only half of the same period last year.

In addition, finished construction materials such as paint, tiles, and sanitary equipment in Nghe An are also facing difficulties in sales. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien, owner of an interior materials store on Le Hong Phong Street - Vinh City, said: "At the end of the year, the consumption of paint and wall tiles is very slow. The store only sells a few paint and tile products to families renovating their houses. It is almost impossible to sell to large projects."

The Tuynel brick and tile factory in Ky Son commune, Tan Ky district has no more storage space. Photo: Van Truong

Cement factories operate at a standstill

For cement manufacturing enterprises at this time, they are also facing difficult domestic consumption and business losses. For example, Tan Thang Cement Factory in Quynh Luu district has an operating capacity of 2 million tons of products/year, operating since the beginning of 2020. Due to difficulties in consumption, since the beginning of 2023 until now, the factory has had to stop clinker production and suffered quite a lot of losses.

A representative of Tan Thang Cement Factory shared: Since the beginning of January 2024, the factory has found small orders in the US market and has resumed operations, but production has only reached 50-60% of capacity.

Similarly, Hoang Mai Cement Factory is also operating at a standstill due to difficult output, with cement prices dropping from 50 USD/ton to 47 USD/ton. Since the beginning of 2023, the factory has only produced 1.4/1.7 million tons/year. In 2023, the factory lost over 30 billion VND.

To gradually overcome the difficulties, cement factories in the province are focusing on solutions, looking for some domestic and export markets; approaching public investment projects in the province to supply cement. At the same time, continuing to research and apply technology to reduce product costs and increase competitiveness.

According to experts, recently, public and civil construction projects have decreased, have not started or are only in the early stages, so the demand for construction materials such as sand, bricks, and cement is low. Meanwhile, projects such as the North-South Expressway, coastal roads, and N5 road section Tan Ky... are nearing completion, so the demand for construction materials has decreased./.

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