Posted on 22 May 2024
China imported 194,000 tonnes of stainless steel in April, a huge 27.1% increase from March and a 59% rise from the same month last year, according to the General Administration of Customs (GACC).
The surge in volume was primarily driven by imports of cold-rolled coil (CRC) to 600 mm width and above, where the total climbed to 115,800 tonnes, the GACC data show, an increase of 63,000 tonnes from the previous month – a 120% month-on-month rise, Mysteel Global reported.
Notably, within the CRC import total in April, some 111,800 tonnes sailed from Indonesia, registering an on-month jump of 123.4% and an on-year rise of 36.2% to reach a 17-month high, according to Mysteel Global.
From January to April, China's stainless steel imports totalled 802,000 tonnes, an increase of 219,000 tonnes or 37.6% compared to the same period last year, based on GACC data.
Of these imports, around 700,000 tonnes came from Indonesia, a 60.4% increase from the same period last year, the GACC data shows.
Meanwhile, China's stainless steel exports in April saw a slight increase of 1.6% on month and 4.3% on year, totalling 393,000 tonnes, with a 18.2% on-month increase in stainless tubular exports contributing most to the rise, Mysteel Global observed.
For the first four months of this year, China's total stainless steel exports amounted to approximately 1.45 million tonnes, an 8.3% increase compared to the same period last year.
Source:Mysteel Global
