China: Billet imports increase by 22% in Apr ’21

Steel billet imports by China rose by 22% in Apr ’21 to 750,547 t. Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Iran were the predominant suppliers for the month, according to data maintained with SteelMint. The rise in imports was due to increased supply from Vietnam and Indonesia. Imports from these countries witnessed a two- to four-fold rise m-o-m. As China has slashed import duty on non-ASEAN origin billets, imports are expected to increase in May ’21.