He Wenbo, executive chairman of China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), stated at the fifth meeting of the sixth CISA general assembly held in Beijing on February 13 that China imported 10.57 million mt of finished steel in 2022, down 25.9 percent year on year, which was the lowest level since 1993.
The cost of China’s steel imports increased significantly in 2022 amid high inflation and the energy crisis, dragging down the import volume. Only the import volumes of cold rolled sheet and ultra-thick steel plate indicated year-on-year rises, while other products indicated year-on-year declines in volume.
In 2022, China’s finished steel imports became more concentrated in terms of origin, with steel imports from Japan, South Korea and Indonesia amounting to 7.92 million mt, accounting for 75 percent of the overall steel import volume, 11.8 percentage points higher than the volume recorded in 2021.
Also, China imported 6.38 million mt of semi-finished steel in 2022, down 53.5 percent year on year. The biggest decline was seen in the billet segment, where volumes dropped by over 80 percent from the previous year due to the Covid-19 restrictions in H1 and also higher international prices and lower levels in the local Chinese market.