According to the statistics released by the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry, in the first quarter of this year France's basic steel product and ferroalloy exports amounted to a value of €2.73 billion, increasing by 3.1 percent year on year.
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 three months of 2012, steel and ferroalloys ranked seventh among the most exported products of the country.
During the period in question, France exported €527 million of steel pipes and tubes - down 13.8 percent, €123 million of cold rolled steel strip - down 19.8 percent, €108 million of cold rolled steel bars - down three percent, €108 million of cold drawn wire - up 4.7 percent, €161 million of metal structures and parts - down 1.9 percent, all compared to January-March 2011.
Meanwhile, in the January-March period of this year France's basic steel product and ferroalloy imports totaled €2.54 billion, down 11.8 percent year on year.
During the given period, France imported €456 million of steel pipes and tubes - down 8.3 percent, €153 million of cold rolled steel strip - down 18.1 percent, €131 million of cold rolled steel bars - up 1.65 percent, €107 million of cold drawn wire - down 12.3 percent, and €338 million of metal structures and parts - down 0.7 percent, all compared to the same period of the previous year.