A glance at China’s 2005 raw material imports and exports
SteelOrbis Shanghai
China's raw material imports remained strong in 2005 thanks to the rapid capacity increases in the country, meanwhile semi-finished steel exports of the country were also strong.
China imported 26.76 million metric tons of
iron ore in December with $1.72 billion value (or with $64/metric tons in average) and the country's total ore imports reached 275.24 million metric tons with $18.32 billion (with $66.56 metric tons in average) through 2005. Through 2005,
Australia ranked first in exporting
iron ore to
China with 112.18 million metric tons, accounting for 40.7 percent of
China's total ore imports. Meanwhile,
iron ore imports from
India accounted 68.58 million metric tons, and that of
Brazil accounted 54.74 million metric tons.
Despite the decline in average imported
iron ore price, the quantity of imports in December were over the average monthly figure of 22.9 million metric tons, implying that the steelmakers and traders in the country preferred some stockpiling before the Spring Festival holiday. It can also be considered as a sign that
China's steel industry is expecting an increase in
iron ore prices in the new year.
Looking at the
scrap side,
China's total
scrap imports through 2005 reached 10.14 million metric tons and $2.6 billion (or $257.3/metric tons in average) while the country exported 1.940 metric tons
scrap through 2005. The US (2.6 million metric tons),
Kazakhstan (1.91 million metric tons) and
Japan (1.89 million metric tons) have been the largest
scrap suppliers to
China.
Meanwhile,
China exported 1.25 million metric tons coke with $162.6 million value ($129.73/metric tons in average) in December. Total coke exports through 2005 reached 12.76 million metric tons with $2.34 billion ($183.37/mt in average). The decrease in the exported coke's average price throughout the year is staggering.
Japan (2.81 million metric tons),
Belgium (2.03 million metric tons) and
Brazil (1.52 million metric tons) have been major coke exporters from
China in 2005.
Looking at the ferroalloys through 2005,
China exported 169,662 metric tons ferromanganese with $144 million value, 941,000 metric tons ferrosilicon with $614 million, 376,380 metric tons silicomanganese with $261.2 million, 25,176 metric tons of ferromolybdenum with $1.15 billion and 3,600 metric tons ferrovanadium with $149.24 million.
Regarding
China's semi-finished product imports and exports, net exports of billets and slabs are conspicuous.
China's common carbon
billet and
slab exports in 2005 amounted 2.26 million metric tons (with $786.44 million) and 3.64 million metric tons (with $1.44 million) respectively, while their imports reached 270,000 metric tons (with $92.77 million) and 617,000 metric tons (with $254.3 million).
Looking at the average export prices of semi-finished materials, the average price of billets in 2005 is $353/metric tons, while the average price only in December is $331. The average price of slabs in 2005 is $394/metric tons, while the price in December is $316/metric tons. The prices have fallen by a large scale but the quantity of exports increased in December because of both the year end and the Spring Festival in
China. International traders planned to stock some products with the expectation of possible price increases in the new year while steel mills stocked some products because of the holiday for the Spring festival.