According to the Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2023-2024/Q4 2023 Report from the Economic Committee of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), total EU imports of steel products (including semis) decreased by 19.0 percent year on year in the first eight months this year. In the given period, the EU’s imports of flat steel declined by six percent, while imports of long steel were down by 24.0 percent, both year on year.
Imports have shown consistent volatility throughout 2023, mirroring the fluctuations seen in the three preceding years. The surge seen in imports in 2020 with the onset of Covid-19 became much more pronounced during 2021 before steel demand became much weaker from the first quarter of 2022. EUROFER noted that steel imports were declining in volumes over the second half of 2022 and until the second quarter of 2023, albeit continuing to show volatility. However, over the entire year of 2022, imports remained at elevated historical levels, resulting in a very high 28 percent share of imports in apparent consumption, as well as in a widening trade deficit with third countries.
In the January-August period, India, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Turkey and Japan were the main countries of origin for finished steel imports into the EU. The first five countries accounted for 52 percent of total EU finished steel imports. India continued to be the largest import source of finished products for the EU, with share of 12.6 percent, followed by South Korea with 12.3 percent, Taiwan and China with 9.4 percent, and Vietnam with 8.1 percent. Turkey now only holds the sixth-largest share with 7.8 percent, whereas it used to be the largest exporter to the EU until the fourth quarter of 2022.
In the given period, imports of finished products from Turkey, China and India dropped by 59 percent, 11 percent and three percent, respectively, while imports from Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan and South Korea rose by 28 percent, 15 percent, nine percent and three percent, respectively, all year on year.
According to the EUROFER report, in the first eight months flat product imports accounted for 79 percent of finished product imports and long product imports accounted for the remaining 21 percent.