The billet imports in China witnessed a marginal rise of ~4% in Jul’20, to reach 2.45 mn t against 2.36 mn t in Jun’20. India, Russia, and Vietnam stood the prominent billet exporters to the country for the third consecutive month.
- Vietnam billet exports saw a three-fold rise during the month. During the period under consideration, Chinese buyers have seen preferring ASEAN billets due to the 0% duty advantage.
- On the other hand, the import figures from India and Russia have dropped by 18% and 15%, respectively.
- Hence, for this reason, the billet imports in the country have registered a nominal growth in July when compared with the growth figures of the two preceding months; 43% (May’20) and 67% (Jun’20).
Meanwhile, SteelMint has also analyzed that during Jan-Jul’20, the billet imports in China have increased by eleven-folds CPLY to reach 7.72 mn t on high domestic prices and cost-effective imports. During May-Jun’20, the Chinese domestic billet prices rose by ~RMB 86/t, from RMB 3232/t in May to RMB 3318/t in Jun’20.
Future outlook- The Indian billet imports are likely to witness a drop in the coming months, as the majority of the Indian mills have curbed their export allocations on improving realizations in the domestic market. It could pose better opportunities for ASEAN and CIS nations to increase their share in the Chinese market.
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