Latin American imports of finished steel from China increased by 78 percent

The latest statistics released by the Latin American Steel Association (ALACERO) indicate that imports of finished steel products from China increased significantly during the month of April this year. Imports between January and April have jumped significantly this year over the previous year.

Among the most imported flat metal products in January-April were alloy steel sheets and coils (580,417 tons), cold-rolled coils (346,645 tons) and galvanized sheets (311,485 tons). In addition, wires (363,946 tons) and fittings (249,953 tons) were among the imported steel products for the period under review.

Overall, Latin America's imports of finished steel products from China totaled 652,035 tonnes in April, up 43 percent from imports during April 2013. The region has become the second largest export supply of Chinese finished steel after South Korea.

Imports during the four-month period from January to April this year amounted to 2.5 million tons. This is 78 percent more than the total import volume of 1.4 million tons recorded during the corresponding four months of last year. Latin American imports account for 11 percent of China's total finished steel exports.

The countries that reported the largest increases in imports of finished steel products from China over the four-month period were Brazil, with 193 percent growth and Mexico, with 144 percent growth.