According to customs data, in the January-April period this year the finished steel exports of the northeastern Chinese province of Hebei reached 1.696 million mt or $1.1 billion in value, up 100 percent and 98.4% respectively. The export value of finished steel products accounted for 18 percent of the total export value of the province in the period in question.
In April, finished steel exports from Hebei came to 653,000 mt or $0.42 billion, up 63 percent and 59.3 percent month on month respectively.
This year, finished steel exports from Hebei Province have shown a massive increase, reaching a peak in April. At the same time, however, the average export price has shown a downward trend on year-on-year basis. The average finished steel export price in the January-April period was $646.2/mt, down 32.8 percent year on year.
In 2009 the average price of finished steel exported from Hebei Province decreased by 40 percent from $1,043/mt at the start of the year to $640/mt at the end of the year. In January 2010 there was an uptick in prices, later followed by a decrease to $636/mt in April.