According to the statistics released by the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry, in 2009, France's basic steel product and ferroalloy exports amounted to a value of €7.65 billion, down 35.67 percent year on year.
During the year in question, France exported €1.93 billion of steel pipes and tubes - down 33.96 percent, €209.55 million of cold rolled steel bars - down 55.04 percent, €432.9 million of cold rolled steel strip - down 43.34 percent, €229.71 million of cold drawn wire - down 38.32 percent, €710.88 million of metal structures and parts - down 13.73 percent, all compared to 2008.
Meanwhile, in 2009, France's basic steel product and ferroalloy imports totaled €6.79 billion, down 45.3 percent year on year.
During the period in question, France imported €1.25 billion of steel pipes and tubes - down 33.4 percent, €239.37 million of cold rolled steel bars - down 52.37 percent, €433.02 million of cold rolled steel strip - down 33.57 percent, €305.42 million of cold drawn wire - down 43.13 percent, and €1.1 billion of metal structures and parts - down 25.7 percent, all compared to the previous year.