China stainless steel production grew 10% in 2019

SHANGHAI, Mar 3 (SMM) – China produced 29.4 million mt of crude stainless steel in 2019, up 10.08% from 2018, according to data from the Stainless Steel Council of China Special Steel Enterprises Association released on Monday.

Production of Cr-Ni steel (300-series) rose 5.25% to 13.49 million mt, accounting for 45.9% of the total, down 2.11 percentage points from 2018.

Production of Cr steel (400-series) inched up 0.65% to 5.5 million mt, accounting for 18.72% of the total, down 1.75 percentage points from 2018.

Production of Cr-Mn steel (200-series, including products that do not meet national standards) jumped 23.8% to 10.22 million mt, accounting for 34.78% of the total, up 3.85 percentage points from 2018.

In 2019, China’s imports of stainless steel dropped 39.62% to 1.12 million mt, while exports fell 8.06% to 3.67 million mt.

Stainless steel apparent consumption in China stood at 24.05 million mt in 2019, up 9.19% year on year.