According to Hyundai Steel, between 2020 and 2022, national imports of hot-rolled steel amounted to about 2 million tons, rising to 3.6 million tons in 2023. In 2024, imports are estimated at about 3.3 million tons.
Most of these imports are Japanese steel products, which are shipped to South Korea at prices USD 200 per ton lower than prices in Japan, Hyundai Steel said. The company stressed that steel production in South Korea stood at 47.64 million tons in January-September 2024, the lowest in 14 years. Moreover, the share of imports in the national hot-rolled steel market is expected to reach 37% this year.
Hyundai Steel initiated an anti-dumping investigation against Chinese plate steel imports in October 2024. South Korea had not previously imposed such restrictions on imports of traditional steel products.
These developments came as a shock to South Korea's Japanese metallurgical companies. According to the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF), in the first ten months of 2024, the volume of Japanese hot-rolled steel exports decreased by 19.3% year-on-year to 1.45 million tons. During the same period, South Korea's hot-rolled steel supplies to Japan increased by 3.6% to 709 thousand tons.
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