China: CISA urges export curbs on billets after this year’s early surge

• China’s billet exports surge by 306% y-o-y in Jan-May
• Rising semis exports challenge China’s decarb journey

Mysteel Global: China’s steel industry faces mounting decarbonisation challenges as steel billet exports grow at an alarming rate, prompting calls for export control measures, Jiang Wei, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the China and Steel Association (CISA), warned at a recent conference.

During the first five months of this year, China exported a total of 4.7 million tonnes (mnt) of steel billets, substantially higher by 306% compared with the same period last year, according to data released by the country’s General Administration of Customs (GACC). In May alone, China’s billet export volume also surged 345% y-o-y to 1.4 mnt, the highest since November 2006, the data showed.

“The excessive export of billet – semi-finished products – generates multiple negative impacts on China’s steel industry,” Jiang told delegates at the Green and Low-Carbon Development Symposium held by CISA on June 25.

“It squanders domestic steel processing capacity, depletes non-renewable energy, intensifies environmental pollution and carbon emissions, impedes industrial optimisation, and fuels vicious competition among market players,” a post on CISA’s WeChat account quotes him as saying.

“The association (CISA) has formally proposed to relevant state ministries that export restrictions on steel billets be implemented,” Jiang said.

In fact, China’s overall steel exports have remained consistently high so far this year, not just those of semis, with the total export volume over January-May reaching 48.5 mnt, higher by a significant 8.9% compared with the first five months of last year, GACC data showed.

China’s steel exports have proven resilient in the face of global tariff headwinds, but the decarbonisation-driven realignment of international steel trade rules will pose new challenges for the sector, according to Jiang.

With blast furnace-route production accounting for around 90% of China’s crude steel output, it is imperative for the country to decarbonise the entire industry chain and reshape its competitiveness in the global steel market, Jiang stressed.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with a content exchange agreement between MySteel Global and BigMint.