South Korea: Steel export statistics in Feb ’21

Key Highlights-

• Semi-finished steel soared by 50% m-o-m
• Finished long decreased by 17% m-o-m
• Finished flat down by 7% m-o-m
• Ferro alloys exports dampened by 50% m-o-m

South Korea’s steel export volumes barring semi-finished, were weighed down by the solid demand for the automobiles along with the government spending to resuscitate the COVID stricken economy for a prolonged period.

1.Semi-finished- Korean mills exported 43,362 t of semis in Feb ’21 which was 50% up in comparison with Jan ’21 volumes at around 28,978 t. It was also higher by 19% on a yearly basis.

Country-wise exports- Korean mills exported 19,638 t in Feb ’21 to Japan, dropping by 24% as against 25,830 t a month ago. Exports to Indonesia spiked up to 20,122 t in Feb ’21 in contrast with 3,111 t in Jan ’21.

2. Finished-long- Exports of long products decreased by 17% on m-o-m basis at 1,33,204 t in Feb ’21 as against 1,60,221 t a month ago. However, on a yearly basis the same declined by 34% from 2,01,981 t in Feb ’20.

Country-wise exports- Major destinations that procure longs from South Korea reported decline in the month of Feb, including Japan at 19,276 t (down 14%), Malaysia at 14,658 t (down 20%), followed by Vietnam at 12,178 (down 9%) and Taiwan at 10,740 (down 26%).

3. Finished-flat- Exports of finished flat stood at 18,02,352 t in Feb ’21 against 19,47,353 t in Jan ’21, down by 7% on a m-o-m basis. On the other hand, the same declined by 9% from 19,70,533 t in Feb ’20 on a yearly basis.

Country-wise exports- In Feb ’21, export to China was reported at 2,39,544 t, down by 8% in comparison with 2,59,495 t in Jan ’21. Similarly, exports of flat products dipped in Japan and India by 24% and 15% respectively.

However, Korean mills’ exports to the United States went up by 19% to 2,10,584 t in comparison with Jan’s export volume of 1,76,375 t.

Factors that led to lesser exports of finished products-

• Robust demand from the automobile sector- The aggregate production of automobiles in Feb ’21 stood at 260,958 units, surging by 38% y-o-y, as per the data released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MoTIE). Meanwhile domestic sales in Korea grew by 24% to 123,317 units; the increase was on the back of demand for new launched vehicles – Carnival, GV70 and Tucson.

• Increase in government spending- Towards end-Dec ’20, Korean Government announced stimulus packages to boost the economic recovery from prolonged Covid-19 pandemic. This in-turn provided a boost to the construction, energy and infrastructure sectors.

4. Ferro alloys- During the month of Feb ’21, exports were reported at 10,990 t registering a whopping decrease by 50% compared to 21,833 t in Jan ’21. While the same diminished by 30% y-o-y at 15,671 t in Feb ’20.

Country-wise exports- Exports of ferro alloys to Netherlands dropped by 10% to 5,352 t in Feb ’21 as against 5,948 t in Jan ’21. Export volumes to the United States stood at 552 t in Feb ’21.