Latin America: The Primary Destination of Chinese Steel Exports

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The press release issued by the Latin American Steel Association (ALACERO) suggests significant rise in import share of exported Chinese steel by the Latin American countries. The region has emerged as the main destination of Chinese steel, pushing South Korea to second spot.

China exported 60.9 million tons (Mt) of steel to the world during Jan-Nov ’18. The Lat Am region accounted for approximately 11% of the total Chinese steel exports during the initial eleven-month period in 2018. The Latin American imports of Chinese steel surged higher by 5% year-on-year to total 6.6 million tons (Mt). It must be noted that the region had imported only 6.3 Mt of steel during the corresponding eleven months in 2017.

The region outclassed South Korea to become the primary destination of steel exports from China. Meantime, the imports by South Korea witnessed notable decline by 39% over the previous year to total 6.5Mt. Vietnam- the third largest destination too registered 11% decline in imports of Chinese steel.

The Chinese steel shipments to Latin America during Nov ’18 totaled 730,000 tons, out of which rolled steel and derivative steel accounted for 672,000 tons and 58,000 tons respectively. The monthly imports surged higher by 58% over Nov ’17.

The steel shipments from China to the Latin American region registered significant growth since June 2018. While, Chinese exports to the rest of the world contracted 5%, the exports to the region witnessed 28% growth. The imports of Chinese steel by the region totaled 3.9Mt in June-Nov ’18.