Driven by the robust global demand, exports of Graphite Electrodes from China in CY17 exceeded the exports in CY16 by around 58%.
With rising steel production across the world, and the Electric Arc Furnace route of production gaining more and more popularity due to the inherent environmental friendliness over the Blast Furnace method, demand for the graphite electrodes have been escalating to the never-before levels in the international sphere. According the latest disclosure by the World Steel Association, the worldwide steel production in 2017 was up by 5.3% to 1,691.2 MnT in Y-o-Y comparison.
An analysis of the China Customs data shows that 201,695 MT of the electrodes was exported from the
biggest exporting country in 2017 that represented more than half of its exports of 127,620 MT in 2016.
In 2017, Russia and Iran are the top export destinations for Chinese graphite electrode exports, accounting for around 11% each, out of the total export share; followed by USA and Turkey with the respective share of around 8% each. India is the third largest buyer, with around 7% export share during the year under review.
At the same time, tightening supply of the electrodes and sky-rocketing prices are emerging as the grave causes of concern today. Growing usage of electronic devices is scaling up the production of Lithium Ion batteries, and that is diverting bulk of the global Needle Coke supply towards the battery industry, constricting the Needle coke supply to the electrode manufacturers. In China—one of the largest electrode producing nation in the world, a slew of Graphite Electrode production capacity cuts to preserve environmental interests has lowered the export supply, and the rising Needle coke prices due to shortage have mutually contributed towards raising the electrode prices to sky-highs—leaving the steel producers reeling under severe cost pressure.
Leave a Reply