Chinese Billet Imports Rise Nearly Eight-Fold in Jan-Feb'20

Chinese billet imports stood at 1,174,731 MT during Jan-Feb'20, to book a Y-o-Y growth of 675%. The same was recorded at 151,490 MT during Jan-Feb'19. Vietnam, Russian, Malaysia, and United Arab Emirates were the major exporting nations to the country, with 248,625 MT, 196,257 MT, 138,991 MT, 123,44 MT of billet exports respectively.

The sharp hike in imports is primarily due to the resumption of construction activities which were put on a halt due to lockdown imposed by the Chinese government to prevent the spread of COVID-19 which has resulted in the drop of inventory level. And hence, the post lockdown had driven the billet imports in the country and now the trades have gained momentum.

Also, unlike other nations, China is the only economy, which is recovering from the pandemic. This is made all the major billet exporting nations combative for supplying the billets to China, as due to the pandemic, other billet consumers are largely lockdown.

County-wise Chinese billet imports

Source: SteelMint Research