According to the statistics released by the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry, in the first half of this year France's basic steel product and ferroalloy exports amounted to a value of €5.4 billion, remaining more or less stable compared to the same period of the previous year with just a slight year-on-year increase of 0.2 percent.
The cumulative value of France's steel product and ferroalloy exports has risen steadily since March 2010 on year-on-year basis. In the first half of 2012, steel and ferroalloys ranked eighth among the most exported products of the country.
During the period in question, France exported €1.1 billion of steel pipes and tubes - down 9.3 percent, €245 million of cold rolled steel strip - down 17.8 percent, €213 million of cold rolled steel bars - down 5.2 percent, €212 million of cold drawn wire - up one percent, €332.5 million of metal structures and parts - down 8.3 percent, all compared to the first half of 2011.
Meanwhile, in the January-June period of this year France's basic steel product and ferroalloy imports totaled €5 billion, down 14.2 percent year on year.
During the given period, France imported €877 million of steel pipes and tubes - down 10 percent, €303 million of cold rolled steel strip - down 18 percent, €244 million of cold rolled steel bars - down 9.5 percent, €204.6 million of cold drawn wire - down 17.2 percent, and €680 million of metal structures and parts - down 8.4 percent, all compared to the same period of the previous year.