According to the Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2024-2025/Q2 2024 Report from the Economic Committee of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), total EU imports of all steel products, including semis, rose by 11.0 year on year in the fourth quarter of 2023. In the given quarter, the EU’s imports of flat steel increased by 25.0 percent year on year, while imports of long steel were down by 19.0 percent and imports of finished steel products moved up by 11.0 percent, both on year-on-year basis.
In the full year, total imports decreased by 8.5 percent year on year after a seven percent drop seen in 2022. In particular, imports of flat products declined by eight percent and imports of long products decreased by 22.0 percent, both on year-on-year basis, while finished product imports went down by 11.0 percent compared to 2022. During 2023, imports remained at higher historical levels and, as a result, the share of imports in apparent steel consumption amounted to 27.0 percent.
In the first two months of 2024, India, Turkey, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan and China were the main countries of origin for finished steel imports into the EU. The first five countries accounted for 55 percent of total EU finished steel imports. India continued to be the largest import source of finished products for the EU, with a share of 13.3 percent, followed by Turkey with 11.4 percent, South Korea with 10.6 percent, Vietnam with 10.0 percent, Taiwan with 9.6 percent, Japan with 8.3 percent and China with 7.4 percent.
In the January-February period this year, imports of finished products from China and South Korea dropped by 30.0 percent and one percent, respectively, while imports from Turkey, India, Vietnam, Japan and Taiwan rose by 58.0 percent, 91.0 percent, 130.0 percent, 10.0 percent and 14.0 percent, respectively, all year on year.
According to the EUROFER report, in the first two months long product imports accounted for 19.0 percent of total finished product imports.