Posted on 26 Apr 2024
China’s import of semi-finished steel dropped to one-third in the first ten months of 2023, compared to the same period of 2022. The import to ASEAN declined from 1.7 million tonnes in the first ten months of 2022 to 452k tonnes in the same period of 2023.
China’s total import of stainless slab dropped significantly, from 1.4 million tonnes in the first ten months of 2022 to 531k tonnes in the same period of 2023.
China’s import of billet in total declined substantially from 1.7 million tonnes to 473k tonnes in the first ten months of 2023. Vietnam and Indonesia were the largest sources of billet import into China in 2020 and 2021. However, the volume dropped significantly from 2022 onwards.
China’s export of semi-finished steel was back to gain momentum in 2022, at 1 million tonnes and the volume increased to 2.7 million tonnes in the first ten months of 2023. Export to ASEAN rose from 177k in the first ten months of 2022 to 986k tonnes in the same period of 2023.
China’s trade with individual ASEAN countries
China’s export of billet to Indonesia surged from 41k tonnes from January to October 2022 to 309k tonnes in the same period of 2023. China’s export of slab was not significant, but the volume jumped to more than 400k tonnes in the same period of 2023.
Indonesia was the largest source of China’s stainless slab, at 448k tonnes in the first ten months of 2023 (84% of total stainless slab import in the country). However, the volume declined significantly from 1.3 million tonnes in the same period of 2022.
The sharp decline in stainless slab import could be because of the sharp increase in stainless steel production in China in the hope that there would be an increase in demand. However, the consumption remained below normal. Warehouses were overstocked and prices fell in second half of 2023. This is in line with the significant increase in Chian’s export of stainless slab in the first ten months in 2023.
There is no semi-finished export from China to Malaysia. On the other hand, China used to import a bulk of semi-finished steel from Malaysia, starting from 2019. The volume dropped from 603k tonnes in 2021 to 70k in 2022 and 1.7k in the first ten months of 2023.
As for Philippines, China’s export of billet jumped from 40k tonnes in the first ten months of 2022 to 186k tonnes in the same period of 2023. Slab export increased from 96k tonnes in the first ten months of 2022 to 256k tonnes in the same period of 2023. There is no China’s import of semi-finished steel from Philippines.
There is no trade on semi-finished steel between China and Singapore.
China did not import semi-finished steel from Thailand in 2022 and 2023. Export of semi-finished steel to Thailand registered 153k tonnes in the first ten months of 2023. Around 100k tonnes was the export of stainless slab.
All in all, China’s steel demand was weak in 2023, especially for long steel. Therefore, domestic billet inventories remained high and billet import reduced significantly. On the other hand, export increased by at least three folds compared to the previous year.
Source:SEAISI
