The decline in domestic demand and the decline in the prices of domestic steel products compared to other exporting countries led local producers to resort to exporting abroad, which helped increase the volume of China’s exports of steel products during the period January-October 2023.

In the period from January to October 2023, China exported about 74.73 million tons of steel products, an increase of 34.8% compared to the same period in 2022, according to data from the China Iron and Steel Association – CISA.

Exports are directed to the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central America and other regions where there are no trade restrictions on the majority of steel exports in the world.

In the period from January to October 2023, China imported about 6.37 million tons of steel products, a decrease of 30.1% compared to the same period in 2022.

While October witnessed a decline in China’s exports of steel products by 1.5% compared to September, reaching 7.94 million tons. The average export price for October reached $792/ton, a decrease of $22.1/ton, or 2.7% less than the previous month.

In October, China imported 668 thousand tons of steel products, an increase of 4.4% compared to September. The average price of imported steel products was $1,517.1/ton, i.e. 7.1% lower than in September.