In the January-March period this year, China’s semi-finished steel exports amounted to 3.3018 million mt, up 28.99 percent year on year.
In March alone, China’s semi-finished steel exports totaled 1.5281 million mt, up 65.99 percent month on month, while surging by 48.37 percent year on year, hitting a new record high for a single month in 2026.
Inventories of semi-finished steel in the Chinese domestic market have consistently been at relatively high levels, increasing the pressure to destock in the local market. Meanwhile, the continuing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the stoppage of shipments from Iran, a traditional semi-finished steel-exporting country in the region, have had the effect of increasing demand for Chinese semi-finished steel. As a result, after the significant rise in China’s semi-finished steel exports in March, export shipments will remain strong in the April-May period and probably later, if no restriction measures are implemented by the Chinese authorities soon.
