Vietnam's bitumen imports from Middle East rise in 2024

Market: Oil products
05/03/25

Vietnam's bitumen imports from the Middle East surged in 2024 because of competitive offers against Asian cargoes. Overall imports rose on the year, supported by increased demand from unfinished projects.

Vietnam, a net importer of the road paving material, imported 1.14mn t of bitumen in 2024, up by 10pc from 1.04mn t in 2023, GTT data show. Imports from the Middle East totalled 382,000t, up by 49pc on the year, the data show.

The rise in imports can be directly attributed to the increase in the number of ongoing projects in the second half of 2024, especially highways, some market participants said.

"[But] price factor at the moment is what is determining the trade flows and where the imports are coming from," a Vietnamese importer said.

Argus-assessed fob Iran bulk bitumen cargoes traded at a discount of $131/t on an average to fob Singapore ABX 1 in 2024. The discounts widened to as high as around $160-180/t in August-October, when tight supply caused by production cuts kept Singapore seaborne prices elevated. The freight cost between the Middle East and Vietnam was estimated at around $120/t, according to some market participants.

But prolonged inclement weather in Vietnam weighed on consumption until the last quarter of 2024, which prevented the domestic selling prices from increasing. This pushed Vietnamese importers to seek relatively cheaper Middle East origin cargoes in 2024.

Importers did not have any reason to seek cargoes from other sources unless they needed certain specifications, an importer said, indicating that importers sought Asia-origin cargoes only for projects with specific requirements.

Imports from Singapore totalled 383,000t in 2024, up by 13pc from 2023, GTT data show. But imports from China and South Korea fell on the year by 44pc and 60pc respectively.

Seaborne prices and freight costs from China and South Korea to Vietnam were also relatively higher, further weighing on imports from those origins, some importers said.

Meanwhile, market participants expect consumption to be stable to high in 2025 compared with 2024 because of pent-up demand. Imports are anticipated to be in the 1mn-1.3mn t range.

Disbursement of project funds have also relatively improved, which will encourage contractors to accelerate road works, a Singapore-based trader said.

The inter-regional price arbitrage between Singapore and the Middle East was not open as Middle East-origin bulk cargoes were trading at a discount of only about $100/t to ABX 1. But the price gap is expected to widen in the coming months and more shipments from the Middle East will enter the region, importers said.

By Sathya Narayanan and Chloe Choo

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