The Southeast Asia iron and Steel Association (seaisi) recently predicted that in 2021, the apparent steel consumption of six ASEAN countries (Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore) will increase by 6.1% year-on-year to 74.9 million tons. Among them, the steel consumption of Vietnam and Indonesia will return to the level of 2019, reaching 24.7 million tons (24.3 million tons in 2019) and 16 million tons (15.9 million tons in 2019) respectively, They increased by 6.0% and 0.6% respectively. The main risk of novel coronavirus pneumonia recovery is the comeback of the new crown pneumonia and slow supply of vaccines and vaccination, the ASEAN Association said. Due to the new epidemic blockade, travel restrictions and lack of foreign manpower and expertise, the construction industry in ASEAN region is facing challenges.

In terms of trade, the import of finished steel products in ASEAN region decreased last year, while the export increased. Affected by the epidemic, the import volume of finished steel products of the six ASEAN countries decreased from 51.2 million tons in 2019 to 41.9 million tons in 2020, a decrease of 18.2%. The export volume of finished steel products of the six ASEAN countries increased by 12.8% from 15.6 million tons in 2019 to 17.6 million tons in 2020, thanks to new investment from Indonesia and Malaysia. Indonesia's export volume of finished steel products increased from 3.3 million tons in 2019 to 3.6 million tons in 2020, with the main increment coming from exports of medium and heavy plate and stainless steel. Malaysia's export volume of finished steel products increased from 2.7 million tons in 2019 to 5.2 million tons in 2020, of which the export of long products increased significantly.

Last year, the six ASEAN countries exported about 25.4 million tons of finished and semi-finished steel products, 83% of which were sold to China, East Asia and other ASEAN countries. The three main export varieties are: semi-finished products sold to China and ASEAN, bar products sold to China and wire products sold to ASEAN and China.