According to the statistics released by the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry, in the first five months of this year France's basic steel product and ferroalloy exports amounted to a value of €4.5 billion, remaining more or less stable compared to the same period of the previous year with just a slight year-on-year decrease of 0.1 percent.
The cumulative value of France's steel product and ferroalloy exports has risen steadily since March 2010 on year-on-year basis. In the first five months of 2012, steel and ferroalloys ranked tenth among the most exported products of the country, falling from the seventh rank in the end of the first four months of the year.
During the period in question, France exported €881 million of steel pipes and tubes - down 15.5 percent, €202 million of cold rolled steel strip - down 19.9 percent, €175 million of cold rolled steel bars - down 6.9 percent, €174 million of cold drawn wire - up 0.7 percent, €271.6 million of metal structures and parts - down 9.8 percent, all compared to January-May 2011.
Meanwhile, in the January-May period of this year France's basic steel product and ferroalloy imports totaled €4.2 billion, down 15 percent year on year.
During the given period, France imported €725 million of steel pipes and tubes - down 11.2 percent, €250 million of cold rolled steel strip - down 18.9 percent, €205 million of cold rolled steel bars - down 7.9 percent, €170 million of cold drawn wire - down 15.2 percent, and €561 million of metal structures and parts - down 6.1 percent, all compared to the same period of the previous year.