Steel imports into Vietnam surged in the first quarter of 2016 to their highest level on record, in spite of government efforts to stem the tide of shipments from overseas, particularly those from China, the largest producer.

Businesses imported 7.5 million tons of steel in the first four months of this year, up 48% against last year’s same period, according to a statement issued on June 12 by the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA).

Chinese businesses accounted nearly 60% of the total imported volume, said the VSA.

A huge volume of steel ingots and finished steel products were imported into Vietnam in spite of the imposition of temporary safeguard duties of 23.3% on steel ingots and 14.2% on finished steel products during the four-month period.

This spike in imports was largely attributed to high demand by the steel industry for semi-finished steel products, including hot-rolled steel, which Vietnam is as yet unable to produce.

Consequently, businesses across the country are forced to procure eight to nine million tons of hot-rolled steel annually from overseas sources to meet their needs for production, said the VSA.