Industry insiders have reported the local steel sales dropped 41 percent in September thanks to the world market.
"September's decline was not expected. We forecast that the price of steel ingots would go through the US$600 per tonne mark but instead it dropped to US$580," said the Vietnam Steel Association's Deputy Chairman Nguyen Tien Nghi.
Steel sales in September surprised experts by dropping 41 percent over August to 283,000 tonnes.
Nghi added that due to the low price of pig iron on the world market, Vietnamese consumers are still waiting for further reductions.
Because of this, the decline has continued into the first few days of this month.
Meanwhile, he added, traders have been selling off their steel stocks.
Due to the situation, many companies and agencies have cut prices by roughly VND300,000 ($15) per tonne to stimulate the market.
According to a report by the association, the price, excluding value-added tax, is now standing at about VND13.6 million (US$697 ) per tonne.
The association said the situation would steady itself in the second half of October, as the rainy season ends and demand for construction steel picks up.
"In addition, when steel stocks are sold out, traders will be forced to renew their supplies and consumption will increase," Nghi said.
He added that demand on the world market is also increasing which would help push the price back up.
Talking about sales for the whole year, Nghi optimistically said that they would increase by 15 percent over last year.
"Because of high consumption in previous months, the dip in September will not affect sales for the whole year," he explained.
Last year, the country consumed nearly 4.2 million tonnes of steel.
Worldwide steel production may plateau over the next five years as a result of environmental pressures and smaller demand increases.
