ASEANs ASEANs Taste Fine tuning of Chinas Steel Exports Urgently Needs Transformation
As the main destination of Chinas steel exports, the Southeast Asian market plays a crucial role in the pattern of Chinas steel exports. Therefore, any fine-tuning of the "steel demand" of Southeast Asian countries should attract our attention.
According to data released by the ASEAN Steel Association, in 2018, the quantity of steel imported by ASEAN countries from China increased slightly by 2.3% year-on-year, reaching approximately 21.4 million tons. Although Chinas steel exports to Southeast Asian countries still maintain a stable growth trend in terms of quantity, the structure of local demand for Chinese steel is quietly changing. This can be seen from Chinas steel export categories to Southeast Asian countries in 2018.
In the past, Chinas steel exports were at the forefront, with the export of long rod and wire products showing a downward trend, while the export of plate and strip products with relatively high added value, such as cold rolled coils and coated plates, showed a significant increase trend. According to relevant data, in 2018, ASEAN countries imported 2.753 million tons of wire rods from China, a year-on-year decrease of 8.0%; 1.066 million tons of imported profiles, a year-on-year increase of 14.8%; 2.236 million tons of imported bars, a year-on-year decrease of 23.9%; 1.76 million tons of imported medium and thick plates, a year-on-year decrease of 2.3%; Imported hot rolled coils amounted to 4.418 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 6.5%, while imported cold rolled coils amounted to 1.439 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 14.8%; 5.071 million tons of imported coated boards, a year-on-year increase of 21.1%; Imported welded pipes reached 1.51 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 14.0%.
The change in the "taste" of foreign steel demand in the Southeast Asian market can also be confirmed by ASEANs steel imports from China in January 2019. Data shows that in January 2019, ASEAN countries imports of wire rods from China increased by 31.4% year-on-year, reaching 250000 tons; The profile increased by 47% to 110000 tons; The bar material increased by 10.2% to 128000 tons; Medium and thick plates increased by 19.2% to 168000 tons; Hot rolled coils increased by 101.5% to 397000 tons; Cold rolled coils increased by 87.6% to 135000 tons; The coated board increased by 45% to 462000 tons; Welded pipes increased by 16.8% to 146000 tons. From this set of data, it can be seen that although the export of long products has resumed growth, cold rolled coils and coated plates are still the fastest-growing varieties of Chinese steel in Southeast Asia.
