According to SMM statistics, China imported 123,600 mt of stainless steel in March, a month-on-month decrease of 34.05% and a year-on-year decline of 48.54%. The imports from Indonesia stood at 90,500 mt (including stainless steel scrap), a drop of 39.61% MoM and down 53.42% YoY. Among them, the import volume of hot-rolled coils doubled from the previous month, but the volume of semi-manufactured products crashed 75% from February. The latter was caused by the commissioning of projects owned by Indonesia Yongwang and Indonesia Ruipu. As a stainless steel mill in Indonesia may have maintained a low operating rate, it is expected that stainless steel imports may be flat in April.
According to SMM statistics, the exports stood at 390,100 mt in March, a month-on-month increase of 35.1% and a year-on-year decline of 13.7%. The export volume to the top ten destinations accounted for about 85.67% of the total stainless steel exports. South Korea was still the largest consumer of Chinese stainless steel, and the export volume to the country soared about 41.47% month-on-month in March, including delayed shipments of spots that should have arrived in South Korea in February. Against the background that the global economy has not yet recovered, it is expected that China's stainless steel export volume in April may drop compared with March and will also be lower than the same period last year.
