Vietnam Becomes SE Asia's Largest Tile Producer

Hanoi, Vietnam, Sept. 29, 2009--Vietnam has surpassed Indonesia to become the Southeast Asian region’s largest ceramic and granite tile producer, according the chairman of Viet Nam’s Building Ceramic Association, Dinh Quang Huy.

Viet Nam currently has an annual production output of roughly 300 million square metres of ceramic and granite tiles, while Indonesia has a little over 200 million square metres.

The country has major ceramic and granite tile producers such as Prime, Viglacera and Dong Tam, of which the first was ranked fifth among the world’s largest tile producers by World Ceramics magazine.

The recent inauguration of Prime’s new plant in central Quang Nam Province, which is the largest ceramic tile plant in the ASEAN region, has contributed to helping the country gain its current position. The Prime plant has eight production lines with an annual output of 24 million square metres.

According to the association, the country currently has more than 45 ceramic and granite tile producers. The industry has seen a growth rate of roughly 29 percent yearly on average for the past few years.

Aside from the domestic market, Viet Nam’s ceramic tiles have also been exported to many countries worldwide, including Australia and South Korea, with annual sales of roughly $110 million.