GACC: China's stainless steel exports surge 26% YoY in 2024

In December alone, the export volume reached 465,700 tonnes, up 6% from November and by a remarkable 38.8% compared with December 2023, the GACC data showed.

The month-on-month increase mainly stemmed from concerns among domestic stainless steel traders about potential changes in the global trade landscape this year, which prompted them to accelerate exports in December, market sources noted.

The strong performance of stainless exports in 2024 can be attributed to a combination of factors, including higher domestic output and rising overseas demand, market analysts observed.

In the first quarter of 2024, labour unrest had disrupted operations at several European stainless steel producers, which led many Chinese traders to shift their focus to the European market, seeking to capture additional market share, as Mysteel Global reported.

Then during last year's third quarter, production on a 700,000-tonne/year stainless cold rolling mill at Indonesia's Yongwang Stainless Steel, a joint venture between China's Tsingshan Group and Hongwang Group, was temporarily halted between June and August. This disruption resulted in more orders being directed to Chinese stainless steel producers, Mysteel Global noted.

Additionally, the decrease in Indonesian stainless steel supply contributed to a drop in imports of stainless steel to China last year. According to the GACC data, China's stainless steel imports in 2024 totaled 1.88 million tonnes, marking a significant 9.3% decrease compared with 2023.

As a result, China's net stainless steel exports reached 3.17 million tonnes in 2024, the second-highest level ever and only slightly behind the peak of 3.18 million tonnes in 2016, the GACC data showed.

The increase in net exports helped ease the excess supply in China's domestic stainless steel market last year, Mysteel analysts noted. According to a survey of 43 domestic stainless steel producers, total crude stainless steel production in 2024 reached 38.3 million tonnes, marking a 7.4% year-on-year rise.

However, the surge in stainless steel exports has inevitably led to rising trade friction, over 20 anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) cases involving Chinese stainless steel products either investigated or ruled on in 2024, according to China's Ministry of Commerce.

One of the most significant actions was the European Union's imposition in May last year of a 71.9% tariff on stainless seamless pipes produced by certain Chinese stainless manufacturers, Mysteel Global noted.

On a positive note, Vietnam, the top overseas buyer of Chinese stainless steel last year, had announced last November that it would cease applying AD duties to imported Chinese cold-rolled stainless steel products. This decision has fueled optimism among Chinese traders, who are now anticipating stronger demand in Vietnam due to rapid urbanization and infrastructure growth there, a market insider told Mysteel Global.

GACC statistics revealed that more than 463,000 tonnes of stainless steel were shipped to Vietnam in 2024, a significant 56.4% increase compared with 2023.

Written by Adele Pan, panqinjie@mysteel.com   

Edited by Russ McCulloch, russ.mcculloch@mysteel.com