In April this year, China exported 6.319 million mt of finished steel, down 2.42 percent month on month amid the worsening coronavirus pandemic worldwide and tough competition, as announced by the Chinese customs authorities on May 7. Export shipments were mostly stable year on year.
In the January-April period of the year, China exported 20.601 million mt of finished steel, down 11.7 percent year on year, which was 4.3 percentage points slower compared to the rate of decline recorded in the January-March period of the year. It is expected that this difficult situation for Chinese exporters will continue in the coming period. Taking into account the reduced sales volumes of Chinese steel products for May-June shipment, export figures will be stable or will decrease further.
China imported 1.006 million mt of finished steel in April, down 11.5 percent compared to 1.1137 million mt in March. Despite the slowdown month on month, overall imports amounted to 4.184 million mt in the January-April period of the year, increasing by 7.4 percent year on year. The pace of growth was 2.3 percentage points slower than in the first three months of the year.
The severe competition in the international market and firm demand in the local Chinese market contributed to high China’s imports of steel in the January-April period, while imports are expected to increase further in the May-June period, sources said.