China stainless steel imports dropped 38.6% YoY in January-February

SHANGHAI, Mar 26 (SMM) – China’s imports and exports of stainless steel declined sharply in the first two months of 2020, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

About 149,060 mt of stainless steel was imported to China in the January-February period, down 38.56% from the same period last year, while exports dropped 11.92% to 442,180 mt.

In March, China’s stainless steel imports and exports are expected to continue to fall, as the pandemic outbreak outside China has yet to come under control.

Note: The General Administration of Customs did not publish separate stainless steel import and export data for January and February, and reported the combined data. The figures for January and February in the chart were calculated based on the number of days.