According to the Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2021-2022/Q2 2021 Report from the Economic Committee of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), total EU exports of steel products to third countries decreased by 16 percent year on year in the fourth quarter last year. In 2020, total steel exports fell by 18 percent compared to the previous year, as a result of a decrease of 17 percent in exports of flat products and a drop of 16 percent in the exports of long products. In the given period, exports of finished steel products dropped by 17 percent year on year. In the first two months this year, exports of finished steel products fell by 14 percent year on year.
EUROFER said that Turkey, the US, Switzerland, China and Algeria were the largest export destinations for EU steel exports in the fourth quarter of 2020, followed by Egypt and Russia. These five countries together accounted for 41 percent of total EU finished product exports in the fourth quarter last year.
In 2020, exports of finished products to China rose by 18 percent and exports to Egypt increased by nine percent, while exports to Turkey, Russia and Algeria recorded decreases of 13 percent, 38 percent and 44 percent, respectively, year on year. Exports to the US and Switzerland also dropped by 33 percent and eight percent year on year, respectively.
According to the EUROFER report, in 2020 flat product exports accounted for 66 percent of finished product exports and long product exports accounted for the remaining 34 percent.