Exports of finished steel from China decreased by 5.6% in the first half of 2026, but remained stable in June

In the period from January to June of this year, China's exports of finished steel totaled 54.874 million tons, down 5.6 percent year-on-year, 2.5 percentage points slower than the rate of decline recorded in the first five months of this year, according to the latest data released by the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC). The decrease is the expected result of the implementation of China's new export license policy starting in January 2026, which had a negative impact on exports of finished steel. Relatively low prices for finished steel outside China supported steel exports between January and June.

In June alone, China's exports of finished steel totaled 10.32 million tons, down 0.2 percent month-on-month, although up 6.6 percent year-on-year.

In this month, exports of finished steel showed an increase of 6.6 percent year-on-year, which contributed to a slowdown in the decline in exports of finished steel in the period from January to June.

In the first six months of this year, imports of finished steel to China amounted to 2,696 tons, which is 11.3 percent less than last year. In June of this year, China's finished steel imports totaled 441,000 tons, down 2.2 percent month-on-month and down 6.2 percent year-on-year.