Vietnam Cement Industry Corpo (Vicem)'s member companies need more coal to produce cement, officials from the group have said.
Le Van Chung, chairman of the corporation's management board, said cement factories at the corporation's member companies needed 5,000 tons of coal a day for production, but the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industry Group (Vinacomin) provided half of their demand at 2,500-3,000 tons per day.
"We had to halt operations temporarily, and if we don't receive an adequate supply of coal in the coming days, many Vicem factories will stop production," Chung said.
Factories in Hoang Thach, But Son, Bim Son, Tam Diep, Hoang Mai, Hai Phong and Ha Tien are experiencing coal shortages.
Hoang Thach Cement Company director Dao Ngoc Binh said his company had three kilns that consume 1,200 tons of coal, but the company had to stop using one kiln on September 27 due to a lack of coal.
The company has about 600 tons of coal in stock, which is not enough to keep the remaining two kilns operational, Binh said.
Cement producers But Son, Bim Son, Tam Diep and Hoang Mai have between 5,000-10,000 tons of coal for production for the next 5-15 days.
The factories acted on their initiative to get more coal for their production, but at the moment, the member companies within Vinacomin did not have enough coal to sell to cement factories, Chung said.
Vicem estimated that the cement industry needed 4 million tons of coal to supply the factories for the remainder of the year, he said.
