According to the Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2020-2021/Q4 2020 Report from the Economic Committee of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), total EU exports of steel products to third countries decreased by 23 percent year on year in the second quarter this year. In August this year, total steel exports fell by nine percent compared to the same month of the previous year, as a result of a decrease of four percent in exports of flat products and a drop of 18 percent in the exports of long products. In August, exports of finished steel products dropped by eight percent year on year.
EUROFER said that Turkey, China, Switzerland and the US were the largest export destinations for EU steel exports in the second quarter this year, followed by Algeria and Egypt, with some changes compared to the pattern in key export destinations seen earlier during 2019. These four countries together accounted for 43 percent of total EU finished product exports in the second quarter this year.
In August this year, exports of finished products to China rose by 86 percent and exports to Egypt increased by 13 percent, while exports to Russia recorded a sharp decrease of 70 percent. Exports to the US, Algeria and Switzerland also dropped by 35 percent, 34 percent and eight percent, respectively.
According to the EUROFER report, flat product exports accounted for 66 percent of finished product exports and long product exports accounted for the remaining 34 percent in the second quarter this year.
EUROFER noted that, once normal business conditions are restored post-pandemic and steel demand picks up again, the combination of still-volatile monthly steel imports and the increased capacity of major exporting third countries will continue to pose a serious risk for EU steel producers.