According to the statistics released by the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry, in the first two months of this year France's basic steel product and ferroalloy exports amounted to a value of €1.79 billion, increasing by 8.3 percent year on year.
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 two months of 2012, steel and ferroalloys ranked seventh among the most exported products of the country.
During the period in question, France exported €351 million of steel pipes and tubes - down 13.2 percent, €67.6 million of cold rolled steel bars - down two percent, €78.8 million of cold rolled steel strip - down 17.2 percent, €70.5 million of cold drawn wire - up 9.6 percent, €95.8 million of metal structures and parts - down 1.95 percent, all compared to January 2011.
Meanwhile, in January-February period of this year France's basic steel product and ferroalloy imports totaled €1.63 billion, down 9.3 percent year on year.
During the given period, France imported €296 million of steel pipes and tubes - down 2.7 percent, €99 million of cold rolled steel bars - down 14.6 percent, €85.9 million of cold rolled steel strip - up 9.9 percent, €71.4 million of cold drawn wire - down 4.2 percent, and €214.6 million of metal structures and parts - up 6.3 percent, all compared to the same period of the previous year.