China: Steel imports fall 8%, y-o-y, in Jan-Feb'22

In Jan'22, China imported a total of 1.252 mnt of steel, while in Feb imports stood at 0.955 mnt, hitting the lowest point since Aug'19 as far as single month import volumes are concerned.

Rising prices and reduced import volumes have been a constant feature. China mainly imports flat steel. During the period under review, imports of flat steel were at 1.622 mnt, accounting for 73.5% of total imports, down 53,000 t y-o-y.

Except for seamless steel pipes for which the price decreased compared with end-2021, all the other 20 varieties of steel showed a rise in prices to varying extents. The import prices witnessed a sweeping hike while most varieties showed a decline in import volumes y-o-y in the first two months of 2022.

There has been little change in the sources of imports. During Jan-Feb Japan and South Korea were the two main sources of imports, contributing a total 1.277 mnt, down 3% on the year. Imports from the EU and Britain witnessed a sharp decline of 23.8% y-o-y to 140,000 t. China procured a total of 1.933 mnt from the top five import sources, accounting for 87.6% of total imports.

In particular, the import volumes from Japan, South Korea and Malaysia remained largely on par y-o-y, while imports from Indonesia and Chinese Taiwan witnessed a sharp decline of 22.6% and 35.1% respectively.

There was notable change in the supply source of elementary material. During Jan-Feb imports of billets and ingots, pig iron, DRI and recycling steel scrap stood at 1.66 mnt, 0.41 mnt, 59,000 t and 28,000 t respectively. Boosted by the change in policy, recycling steel scrap imports registered a y-o-y increase of 189.9%. Billet imports were more or less the same y-o-y, while pig iron and DRI imports fell respectively by 45.9% and 88% y-o-y.

Billets were imported mainly from Indonesia, Russia and Oman, accounting for 58.9% of the total. Imports from Russia increased by 1,679% y-o-y, while those from the traditional exporters such as Vietnam, India and Iran fell by 88.6%, 21.9% and 37.2%, respectively.

China's pig iron imports mainly comes from Brazil and Russia, which fell by 37% and 60.8% y-o-y. The two countries contributed 78.2% of total pig iron imports.