According to the statistics released by the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry, in the first eight months of this year France's basic steel product and ferroalloy exports amounted to a value of €6.9 billion, recording a slight decrease of 0.8 percent compared to the same period of the previous year.
France's steel product and ferroalloy exports had been rising steadily on year-on-year basis each month since March 2010, before trending stable in June and July and decreasing in August. In the first eight months of 2012, steel and ferroalloys ranked eighth among the most exported products of the country.
During the period in question, France exported €1.4 billion of steel pipes and tubes - down 12.2 percent, €316.4 million of cold rolled steel strip - down 15 percent, €263.6 million of cold rolled steel bars - down 5.7 percent, €267 million of cold drawn wire - up one percent, €434 million of metal structures and parts - down 7.9 percent, all compared to the first eight months of 2011.
Meanwhile, in the January-August period of this year France's basic steel product and ferroalloy imports totaled €6.26 billion, down 14.7 percent year on year.
During the given period, France imported €1.1 billion of steel pipes and tubes - down 7.7 percent, €386.7 million of cold rolled steel strip - down 16.8 percent, €297 million of cold rolled steel bars - down 12.4 percent, €253 million of cold drawn wire - down 16.6 percent, and €917 million of metal structures and parts - down 4.5 percent, all compared to the same period of the previous year.