According to the statistics released by the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry, in the first half of this year France's basic steel product and ferroalloy exports amounted to a value of €4.8 billion, decreasing by 11.1 percent year on year.
France's steel product and ferroalloy export value has been on a downtrend on year-on-year basis since August last year. Steel and ferroalloys ranked ninth in the first half of this year among the most exported products of the country, while the aerospace industry was the sector with the highest export value in the January-June period with €216 billion. Meanwhile, the country's motor vehicle exports amounted to €11.86 billion in the first half, decreasing by 9.3 percent year on year.
During the period in question, France exported €1 billion of steel pipes and tubes - down 3.45 percent, €255 million of cold rolled steel strip - up 3.9 percent, €194 million of cold drawn wire - down 8.1 percent, €173 million of cold rolled steel bars - down 18.6 percent, €278 million of metal structures and parts - down 17.6 percent, all compared to January-June 2012.
Meanwhile, in the first half of this year France's basic steel product and ferroalloy imports totaled €4.5 billion, down 10.9 percent year on year.
During the given period, France imported €832 million of steel pipes and tubes - down 6.4 percent, €301 million of cold rolled steel strip - down 2.3 percent, €202 million of cold rolled steel bars - down 17.5 percent, €184 million of cold drawn wire - down 11.7 percent, and €637 million of metal structures and parts - down 9.7 percent, all compared to the same period of the previous year.