South Korea: Steel pipe exports increase by over 20%, y-o-y, in Jan-Apr'22

South Korea's steel pipe exports stood at 590,677 t during January-April 2022, up 23.3% against the same period last year. Out of this, exports to the US accounted for 365,152 t, up more than 36.7% compared to the year ago.

Soaring oil prices in the global market, increase in the number of rigs in North America and the expansion of new renewable energy businesses amid carbon neutrality have led to an increase in steel pipe exports.

However, annual export quota for steel pipes is 1 mnt/year and 0.3 mnt/quarter.

Considering US's current import volumes, it is likely that it might import more than its allocated quota by the end of this year.

"Although, the recent surge in exports of steel pipes for energy such as LNG and new and renewable energy along with exports to various regions such as Canada, ASEAN and Japan, the proportion of shipments to the US is still in an absolute condition in terms of volume as well as profitability", said an industry official.

Note: This article has been published in accordance with an article exchange agreement between SteelDaily and SteelMint.