The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) has warned that the Thai steel industry may face dominance by Chinese companies establishing factories in the country, according to local media reports. FTI Chairman Kriengkrai Thiennukul highlighted that Thailand’s steel industry capacity utilization has fallen to 29.3pct in the first half of this year, its lowest in seven years, down from 31.2pct in the same period last year.
Chinese investments are set to increase production capacity to 12.42 mln tons annually, while Thailand’s demand is 16 mln tons. Xin Ke Yuan Steel Company in Rayong plans to expand its capacity to 12.09 mln tons, including including wire rod, plate, coated steel and structural steel. Yongjin Metal Technology in Chonburi also plans a stainless steel factory with a capacity of 0.322 mln tons per year. Most of these projects have been approved by the Board of Investment.
Kriengkrai warned that these investments, aligned with Beijing’s efforts to reduce domestic pollution and navigate trade barriers, could further depress Thailand’s steel industry capacity utilization. Despite this, he assured that Thai manufacturers can still meet domestic demand and called for regulations to control new steel factory establishments.
He also raised concerns about the import of structural steel that does not meet Thai standards, urging stricter regulations. In 2023, Thailand imported 426,340 tons of structural steel, with 92pct coming from China.