GACC: China's July stainless scrap imports plunge 72% YoY

In July, China imported approximately 5,322 tonnes of stainless steel scrap, reflecting a 20.9% drop from June and a significant 72% decline compared to the same month last year, according to the latest data from the General Administration of Customs (GACC).

Despite the sharp decrease in volume, the average unit price of imported stainless scrap edged up to $1,111.2/tonne in July, as compared to the average of $985.2/t in June. However, this was still $212.2/t lower than the $1,323.4/t level recorded in July 2023, Mysteel Global calculated based on GACC data.

Over the first seven months, China imported around 60,200 tonnes of stainless steel scrap in total, plunging 70.4% from the same period last year, according to GACC data.

Of these, about 40,064 tonnes were shipped from Japan - China's largest supplier of stainless scrap, marking a 52.7% on-year decline, GACC data show.

Such a significant drop was primarily due to the sluggish domestic stainless steel scrap market since the start of this year. Chinese stainless steelmakers have struggled to offer competitive bidding prices for production feeds, including stainless scrap, as most are battling to stay profitable. This has reduced the incentive for exporting countries to send stainless scrap to China, Mysteel Global noted.

As of August 22, Mysteel assessed the average profit margin for mills producing 304-grade cold-rolled coil (CRC) using a higher percentage of stainless scrap at just 2.99%.

Written by Adele Pan, panqinjie@mysteel.com

Edited by Alyssa Ren, rentingting@mysteel.com