South Korea’s imports of rebars rose sharply year on year in September, especially due to a large inflow from China.
According to the statistics from the Korea Iron and Steel Association (KOSA), South Korea’s imports of rebars totaled 62,280 metric tons in September, up 100 percent from a year ago and indicating a surge of 84.6 percent from a month earlier. Such a high rise in rebar imports in September resulted mainly from the large inflow of Chinese rebars. In September, inbound shipments of rebars from China reached 42,293 metric tons, marking a surprising year-on-year jump of 710.8 percent. The low prices of Chinese materials were a factor in the massive increase.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s imports of Japanese rebars, the prices for which were at relatively high levels, losing price competitiveness, amounted to 19,815 metric tons in September, down 23 percent from a year ago and decreasing by 7.4 percent from a month earlier.
In September, South Korea exported 46,877 metric tons of rebars, down 24.6 percent year on year. Overseas shipments bound for most major destinations, excluding Singapore and Canada, decreased in September compared with a year ago.
South Korea’s aggregate imports of rebars from January to September reached 379,907 metric tons, up 9.7 percent from the same period last year, while aggregate exports for this period stood at 262,741 metric tons, down 41.4 percent year on year