Argentina reports decrease in steel exports

Argentina's steel exports fell 39.1 percent year on year to 186,000 tons in the first two months of 2006. On the other hand, country's steel imports increased 16 percent year on year to 160,000 tons during the first two months. The countries from which Argentina imported the most steel in the first two months were; Brazil (45.5%), China (9%), the US (6.7%), Japan (4%), Italy (3.7%) and Chile (3%). In addition, Argentina's biggest export market was Chile, which accounted 15.9 percent of the total exports, during the same period. The US fell into second place with 11 percent, followed by Brazil with 6.1 percent.