According to the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China in March 2022, national metallurgical companies exported 4,945 million tons of steel products. That's 34.4% less than the same period last year, when Chinese companies boosted their foreign supply to five-year highs, but 36.6% more than in February.
In the first three months of this year alone, China's steel export volume amounted to 13.18 million tons, which is 25.5% behind the same period of the previous year.
According to the Chinese consulting firm Mysteel Global, the contracts for March deliveries of steel products were concluded in January, when there was no significant demand in foreign markets. Also, covid quarantines were in effect in some countries in Southeast Asia.
But in May, the volume of external deliveries of Chinese steel products may exceed 6 million tons. When deliveries from Ukraine were stopped and deliveries from Russia fell sharply, Chinese companies began to replace these products on the world market. Especially, China resumed exporting steel semi-finished products after a long hiatus.
Imports of finished steel products to China totaled 1,011 million tons in March, down 23.4 percent year on year. In just three months, the country received 3,218 million tons of rolled products from abroad, 13.4% behind last year's schedule.
In addition, Chinese companies imported 87.28 million tons of iron ore in March, down 14.5% compared to March 2021. The first quarter import volume decreased by 5.2% compared to the same period of the previous year and decreased to 268.36 million tons. According to Chinese experts, iron ore purchases decreased due to the restrictions imposed on iron and steel production at the beginning of the year.
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