Alacero, the Latin American steel association, has reported that in the January-July period of this year Latin America's finished steel imports from China increased by 60 percent year on year to 4.7 million metric tons. Latin America received 10.6 percent of global exports of finished steel from China in the given period, which grew 42 percent compared to the same period of 2013, reaching 44.1 million metric tons. In July alone, Latin America's finished steel imports from China totaled 705,024 metric tons, up nine percent month on month and 35 percent higher compared to July 2013.
In the first seven months of this year, Brazil was the main destination in Latin America for Chinese finished steel, receiving 1.3 million metric tons, up 61 percent year on year. Brazil was followed by Chile and Central America, receiving 720,304 metric tons and 590,945 metric tons, increasing by 87 percent and 79 percent both on year-on-year basis, respectively.
During the first seven months of the current year, flat steel accounted for the leading share of finished steel products exported from China to Latin America, totaling 3.2 million tons and representing 68 percent of the total finished steel imports of Latin America from China, including 1.19 million metric tons of sheets and other alloy steel coils, 674,028 metric tons of cold rolled coils and 625,253 metric tons of hot galvanized steel, representing 37 percent, 21 percent and 20 percent of total flat steel imports respectively. In the given period, the volume of Chinese long product exports to the region amounted to 1.2 million metric tons, including 665,603 metric tons of wire rod and 430,203 metric tons of bars.