China's finished steel exports reached 7.89 million tonnes in March 2023, up 59.6 percent year on year, customs data released in April showed, as mills pushed surplus steel overseas while domestic demand recovered more slowly than expected. Exports over the first quarter totalled 20.08 million tonnes, a 53.2 percent increase on the same period of 2022, when shipments had been held back by weak global demand, the pandemic and high inflation. The March surge was helped by a low base a year earlier, when China exported only 4.95 million tonnes. With property construction still sluggish at home, traders turned to Southeast Asia, the Middle East and other markets to clear inventories. The export boom would run through much of 2023, eventually lifting China's annual steel exports above 90 million tonnes for the first time since 2016.
Source: SEAISI (Mysteel Global) — https://www.seaisi.org/details/22744?type=news-rooms
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