In the first nine months of the current year, Chinese finished steel exports amounted to 75.8 million mt, up 29 percent, and of this volume 6.3 million metric tons arrived in Latin America, up five percent, both on year-on-year basis, according to Alacero, the Latin American steel association. Accordingly, in the given period Latin America’s share in China’s finished steel exports decreased from 10.3 percent to 8.4 percent year on year. In September alone, Latin America's finished steel imports from China decreased by 10 percent month on month to 642,000 mt, rising by five percent compared to September 2014.
In the first nine months, China's main finished steel export destinations in Latin America were Central America which received 1.1 million mt, equal to an 18 percent share of China's total finished steel exports to Latin America, Brazil with 967,000 mt with a 15 percent share, and Chile with 884,000 mt amounting to a 14 percent share.
Meanwhile, in the same period, Latin America received 2.9 million mt of flat steel and 1.8 million mt of long steel from China.