According to the statistics released by the Italian steel producers' association Federacciai, in the first three months of 2010 Italy's steel product imports reached 4.01 million metric tons, increasing by 22 percent, while its steel product exports totaled 3.78 million metric tons, up 19.9 percent, both compared to January-March 2009.
In the period in question, Italy's semi-finished steel product imports reached 874,000 metric tons, up 10.9 percent year on year. Meanwhile, the country's semi-finished steel product exports amounted to 239,000 metric tons, up 56.2 percent year on year.
In Q1 2010 Italy's imports of long products increased by 26.8 percent to 534,000 metric tons, while its long product exports totaled 776,000 metric tons, down 12.3 percent, both year on year.
On the other hand, during the first three months of 2010, Italy's flat product imports reached 2.29 million metric tons, up 32.3 percent year on year, while its flat product exports amounted to 1.6 million metric tons, with a year-on-year increase of 43.4 percent.