China’s stainless crude steel output in 2023 has been estimated at 36.0 million mt, versus 31.975 million mt recorded in 2022, as announced by Stainless Steel Council of China Special Steel Enterprises Association (CSSC) based on the preliminary statistics.
China’s exports and imports of stainless steel in the given year are estimated at 4.14 million mt and 2.07 million mt, while in 2022 China’s exports and imports of stainless steel amounted to 4.551 million mt and 3.285 million mt, respectively.
China’s annual production capacity of stainless steel totals 50 million mt, with the capacity utilization rate standing around 70 percent. In 2024, around 7.0 million mt of stainless steel capacity will definitely be put into operation, while a further 6.0 million mt of stainless steel capacity is also planned to be put into operation in the same year. Zhang Zhifang, chief executive officer of CSSC, stated that the amount of excess capacity of stainless steel in the future will be greater than the amount of excess carbon steel capacity.