Chinese billet exports soared in August

China exported 440,616 metric tons of common carbon billets in August 2006 - 190,000 mt higher than the average monthly figure of the previous seven months. The country's cumulative billet exports in January-August reached a total of 2,190,608 metric tons. The value of the exports reached $170,185,124 in August, giving a grand total of $793,032,935 for the first eight months of the year. Vietnam continued to remain the largest billet importer accounting for 35 percent with 155,092 metric tons in August, and 39 percent with 861,649 metric tons for the January-August period. Vietnam was followed by Taiwan (89, 510 mt in August and 512,171 mt in January-August), South Korea (66,382 mt in August and 248,305 mt in January-August), and by Indonesia (30,161 mt in August and 77,604 mt in January-August). Strangely enough, Thailand only imported 10,613 metric tons of common carbon crude steel from China in August, while its total imports reached 80,132 metric tons for January-August. In the meantime, China imported 24,071 metric tons of common carbon billets in August, all of Japanese origin. China's cumulative common carbon billet imports for the first eight months of the year reached 112,503 metric tons, 103,397 metric tons of which came from Japan.