China’s finished steel exports to the ASEAN-6 countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) amounted to 4.2 million mt in the first quarter of the current year, declining by 14 percent year on year, according to the South East Asia Iron and Steel Institute (SEAISI).
In the given quarter, China’s steel section exports to the ASEAN-6 countries dropped by one percent to 282,619 mt, while its bar and wire rod exports to the same region fell by 36 percent and 29 percent year on year to 211,857 mt and 486,864 mt, respectively.
Meanwhile, in this period, China exported 408,625 mt of hot rolled plates to the region, down by 29 percent year on year. In the first quarter, China’s hot rolled coil exports amounted to 529,205 mt, falling by 35 percent, while it sold 251,901 mt of cold rolled coil to the region, with a 24 percent drop, year on year. SEAISI stated that most of the flat products China exported to the ASEAN-6 countries posted double-digit decreases in the January-March period of the year, taking into account that most of the given products are produced by ASEAN countries.
However, in the first quarter coated sheet exports from China to ASEAN-6 amounted to 1.47 million mt, recording a rise of 14 percent year on year.
Besides, in the given period, China’s seamless pipe exports to the ASEAN-6 countries fell by two percent to 147,478 mt, while it exported 163,130 mt of welded pipes to the region, declining by one percent, both on year-on-year basis, according to the SEAISI data.
As the abovementioned products are generally produced in the ASEAN region, the Chinese exports pose a threat to the region’s producers, SteelOrbis understands.