Vietnam’s exports of iron and steel products reached US$479.88 million in May 2025, according to figures released by Vietnam’s General Department of Customs. This represents a slight decrease of 1.35 percent compared to April, bringing the year-to-date (YTD) export value to US$2.34 billion.

USA, Taiwan, and Japan remain top markets despite slight declines:

The USA continued to be the largest market, with exports totaling US$116.97 million in May, a 7.58 percent decrease from April. Taiwan and Japan also saw slight declines of 5.96 percent and 4.63 percent, respectively, but remained significant contributors to YTD exports.

Malaysia and Saudi Arabia record explosive month-on-month growth:

In contrast to the overall slight downturn, several markets demonstrated remarkable month-on-month growth in May:

Malaysia exports surged by an impressive 171.75 percent, reaching US$24.32 million.
Saudi Arabia saw a strong increase of 70.01 percent.
Lithuania exports jumped by 83.98 percent.
Brazil exports rose by 67.33 percent.
Finland and Bangladesh also recorded strong increases of 45.67 percent and 54.82 percent respectively.

China, UAE, Denmark, and Central European markets face sharp declines:

Conversely, a number of markets experienced substantial decreases in May:

China saw the largest drop of 50.96 percent.
The UAE exports plummeted by 90.15 percent.
Denmark decreased by 52.25 percent.
Poland exports fell by 30.02 percent.
Other significant declines were observed in Netherlands, Canada, Laos, Belgium, Sweden, France, Mozambique, Greece, Czech Republic, Argentina, Norway, Pakistan, Iceland, and Kuwait.
Notably, Brunei Darussalam emerged as a new export market in May.

The May data for Vietnam’s iron and steel product exports presents a mixed picture. While the slight overall dip suggests some challenges, the explosive growth in key markets like Malaysia and Saudi Arabia indicates diversifying demand and potential for expansion in these regions. The substantial drops in several other markets highlight the dynamic and sometimes volatile nature of international trade in this sector.

Vietnam exports of iron and steel products, May 2025, US$ millions

	May	April	MoM	YTD	% of YTD
Total	479.88	486.45	-1.35%	2,338.41	100.00%
Other	29.41	31.86	-7.70%	0.00	0.00%
USA	116.97	126.56	-7.58%	584.76	25.01%
Taiwan	61.00	64.87	-5.96%	307.80	13.16%
Japan	48.70	51.07	-4.63%	254.92	10.90%
Malaysia	24.32	8.95	171.75%	44.90	1.92%
Germany	23.13	17.85	29.54%	96.34	4.12%
Australia	21.43	17.74	20.83%	101.20	4.33%
Saudi Arabia	15.63	9.19	70.01%	43.16	1.85%
India	15.03	13.69	9.77%	54.22	2.32%
Cambodia	14.57	13.55	7.56%	69.03	2.95%
South Korea	14.49	16.41	-11.71%	76.44	3.27%
Thailand	10.28	9.53	7.96%	50.41	2.16%
Lithuania	10.17	5.53	83.98%	43.04	1.84%
Philippines	8.91	9.32	-4.38%	39.05	1.67%
Netherlands	7.90	10.47	-24.56%	39.87	1.71%
Canada	7.21	9.20	-21.54%	46.58	1.99%
Laos	6.69	8.35	-19.91%	34.98	1.50%
China	5.60	11.41	-50.96%	36.99	1.58%
Poland	5.25	7.49	-30.02%	31.15	1.33%
Italy	4.06	4.63	-12.33%	22.41	0.96%
Belgium	3.43	4.91	-30.13%	18.61	0.80%
Spain	3.39	2.77	22.53%	14.38	0.61%
Indonesia	3.10	2.84	9.41%	15.75	0.67%
UK	3.02	3.57	-15.41%	12.56	0.54%
Singapore	2.24	2.77	-19.17%	14.20	0.61%
Sweden	2.00	2.84	-29.61%	32.61	1.39%
Finland	1.92	1.32	45.67%	8.19	0.35%
France	1.46	1.93	-24.69%	8.12	0.35%
Brazil	1.39	0.83	67.33%	10.79	0.46%
Hong Kong	1.21	0.97	25.04%	6.10	0.26%
Denmark	1.01	2.11	-52.25%	10.63	0.45%
Myanmar	0.96	0.71	34.70%	3.31	0.14%
Switzerland	0.91	0.69	31.29%	4.01	0.17%
UAE	0.70	7.12	-90.15%	18.38	0.79%
Romania	0.58	0.45	29.52%	25.48	1.09%
Bangladesh	0.53	0.34	54.82%	0.99	0.04%
South Africa	0.39	0.25	59.12%	1.88	0.08%
Mozambique	0.28	1.04	-73.33%	1.54	0.07%
Greece	0.22	0.40	-45.54%	2.26	0.10%
Czech Republic	0.21	0.29	-28.01%	1.10	0.05%
Argentina	0.07	0.10	-30.62%	0.85	0.04%
Norway	0.06	0.10	-41.68%	0.71	0.03%
Pakistan	0.04	0.08	-42.16%	0.28	0.01%
Brunei Darussalam	0.00	0.00	0.00%	0.09	0.00%
Iceland	0.00	0.20	-100.00%	0.25	0.01%
Kuwait	0.00	0.15	-100.00%	0.43	0.02%

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