China’s steel semis imports
increased by 162% to 1.69 million tonnes in November 2020 from 645,000
tonnes in the same month a year before, latest data from China’s General
Administration of Customs (GAC). The cumulative imports in the first
eleven months this year came to 17.47 million tonnes, up 697% y/o/y.
The largest exporter of steel
semis to China during November this year was Vietnam. The imports from
Vietnam totaled 364,000 tonnes, up 321% y/o/y. The second largest source
was Brazil with 243,000 million tonnes, no imports from this country in
the same month last year. The third largest exporter of steel semis to
China was Indonesia with 219,000 tonnes, up 4369% y/o/y. The fourth and
fifth were Oman (199,000 tonnes) and Russia (195,000 tonnes).
In the first eleven months of
this year, the main sources of steel semis imports to China were Russia
(3.04 million tonnes), India (2.98 million tonnes), Vietnam (2.77
million tonnes), Indonesia (1.61 million tonnes), Brazil (1.4 million
tonnes), and Iran (1.27 million tonnes), accounting for 17.4%, 17.1%,
15.8%, 9.2%, 8% and 7.3% of the total imports respectively.
From the data above, China’s
semis imports remained at a high level. With the soaring global price,
which has exceeded China domestic ones, however, there is little
interest for China to continue purchasing semis products on
international markets. Therefore, the imports may fall sharply in
December.
Table 1: China’s Steel Semis
Imports
|
unit |
Nov
2020 |
Nov
2019 |
VAR |
11M2020 |
11M2019 |
VAR |
Imports |
’000
tonnes |
1,689
|
645
|
161.9% |
17,470
|
2,192
|
696.9% |
Source:
China’s General Administration of Customs, SteelHome Database
Graphics 1: China’s Steel Semis
Imports (2019-2020)
Graphics 2: Main Steel Semis
Exporters to China in Jan-Nov 2020
Source:
China’s General Administration of Customs, SteelHome Database
Table 2: China’s Steel Semis
Imports by Country
unit: ’000 tonnes
Rank |
Country/Region |
Nov
2020 |
11M2020 |
1 |
Vietnam |
364,216 |
2,766,189 |
2 |
Brazil |
242,761 |
1,396,884 |
3 |
Indonesia |
219,106 |
1,613,181 |
4 |
Oman |
198,734 |
622,523 |
5 |
Russia |
194,529 |
3,037,814 |
6 |
India |
158,811 |
2,981,983 |
7 |
Iran |
72,627 |
1,267,231 |
8 |
Ukraine |
48,603 |
701,471 |
9 |
Mexico |
48,515 |
340,033 |
10 |
Malaysia |
35,401 |
835,787 |
11 |
UAE |
31,499 |
494,965 |
12 |
Japan |
24,767 |
554,501 |
13 |
South
Korea |
20,282 |
285,197 |
14 |
Germany |
14,562 |
53,216 |
15 |
the
U.S.A |
12,896 |
12,937 |
|
Others |
1,676 |
506,026 |
|
Total |
1,688,985 |
17,469,938 |
Source:
China’s General Administration of Customs, SteelHome Database |