Rising thick steel plate imports from China harms domestic industry: KOSA

SEOUL (Scrap Monster): According to Korean Iron and Steel Association (KOSA), the rapid rise in imports of thick steel plates from China has damaged the already suffering domestic steel makers in the country. The imports from China accounted for over 60% of the total import volumes by Korea.

According to KOSA statistics, the country’s imports of thick steel plates during the initial six months of the year totaled 1.66 million tons, 24% higher when compared with the imports during the corresponding six-month period in 2013. The imports from China totaled 1.01 million tons during this period.

The quantity of steel thick plates imported from China for shipbuilding and other applications saw huge surge during the first half of the year. The import volumes of Chinese thick steel plates for shipbuilding applications witnessed a rise of 36% over the previous year. The Chinese thick steel plates accounted for 80% of the country’s imports of thick steel plates for non-shipbuilding applications.

KOSA accused China for dumping their products in the Korean markets at cheaper prices. When domestic thick steel pipes are sold for 900,000 won per ton, the average price of plates from China are in the range 500,000 to 600,000 won per ton. The shipbuilding industry, which already runs in losses are seen obviously attracted towards the cheaper Chinese products, KOSA noted.