Posted on 15 Apr 2025
China's finished steel exports totalled 27.43 million tonnes over January-March, higher by 6.3% on year, according to the latest statistics from the country's General Administration of Customs (GACC) on April 14. Notably, the accumulated tonnage was the highest for a first quarter since January-March 2016.
For March alone, the country's steel exports increased by 5.7% on year to 10.46 million tonnes, the highest monthly volume in March since the GACC began keeping records in 2006, Mysteel Global observed.
China's steel shipments abroad during March were mainly fulfilling orders signed one-to-two months earlier, when China's domestic steel demand had turned sluggish during the Chinese New Year holiday. Chinese steel suppliers with their competitively priced offers had actively sought trading opportunities in overseas markets at that time.
Over January-February, for example, the export price of Chinese SS400 4.75mm hot-rolled coil (HRC) assessed by Mysteel averaged $474/t FOB from North China's Tianjin port, lower by $71/t from the average for Japan-origin offers posted during the same two months, according to Mysteel's survey.
Meanwhile, many Chinese steel suppliers were trying to front-load shipments in anticipation of worsening trade friction against China-origin steel products, a factor which also contributed to the significant volume of steel exported in Q1.
During the first three months, China also imported 1.55 million tonnes of steel products, declining by 11.3% from the same period last year, the GACC data showed.
Source:Mysteel Global
