China's steel exports were set to beat the record set in 2015, industry analysts said in December 2024. Shipments in the first eleven months of the year reached 101.2 million tonnes, already more than the 90.3 million tonnes exported in all of 2023, and full-year exports were forecast at more than 111 million tonnes, up 23 percent on the year. Finished steel exports reached 92.06 million tonnes in the first ten months, up 22 percent, while semi-finished exports jumped 69.3 percent to 4.64 million tonnes. The surge was driven by a weakening domestic market, above all the slump in construction, which left mills with large surpluses to sell abroad. The biggest buyers of finished steel were Vietnam, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand and the Philippines. The flood of cheap Chinese steel was creating difficulties for producers around the world and prompting a wave of new trade barriers.
Source: SEAISI (GMK Center) — https://www.seaisi.org/details/25932?type=news-rooms
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