Peruvian steel producer Aceros Arequipa has decided to permanently close its Arequipa plant. Production at the plant had been temporarily halted in July 2016, but the closure is now being announced as permanent. The firm announced it will maintain its distribution center in Arequipa but concentrate production activity in its Pisco plant.
Their filing with the Peruvian securities regulator states the basis for closing the plant as its inability to compete competitively against unfair trading practices caused by low-priced profiles from China to Peru and to its potential trading region.
Latin America’s steel imports from China decreased 20 percent Jan-Sep 2016 while Peruvian imports, on the other hand, increased by 5 percent over the same period to approximately 754,000 mt. In the Central American region, 1.4 million mt of Chinese goods were imported Jan-Sep 2016 which was an increase of 15 percent over the same nine month period the previous year.