South Korea’s heavy plate exports stood at 112,782 tonnes (t) in April 2022, down marginally by 2%, m-o-m, against 114,827 t in the previous month. On a y-o-y basis, export volumes remained largely flat compared to 112,820 t in April 2021.
In January-April 2022, exports inched up marginally by 1% to 468,108 t as compared to 462,767 t in the corresponding period last year (CPLY).
Imports down 4% m-o-m in April
Heavy plate imports by South Korean mills fell by 4% to 141,495 t in April against 146,961 t a month ago. But on yearly basis, import volumes jumped 113% compared to 66,351 t in April 2021.
Imports from Japan and China rose by 135% and 27% y-o-y to 103,379 t and 38,018 t respectively in April.
Domestic demand continued to remain strong from the shipbuilding sector, while supply slowed down due to facility repairs in plants, resulting in rise in imports.
During January-April 2022, heavy plates imports rose significantly by 187% to 546,225 t against 190,310 t in CPLY.
HR wide strips exports, imports down m-o-m
Hot-rolled wide strip export volumes went down by 10% to 278,612 t in April against 310,586 t in the previous month. Similarly, exports dropped 16% y-o-y compared to 333,586 t in April 2021.
Cumulative export volumes stood at 1.16 mnt in January-April 2022, down 6% against 1.24 mnt in CPLY.
Meanwhile, import volumes of the material stood at 263,227 t in April, down 15% against 309,387 t in March. On a y-o-y basis, the same registered a fall of 10% against 292,091 t in April 2021.
Cumulative imports rose by 20% in January-April 2022 to 0.96 mnt compared to 0.80 mnt over the same period last year. Imports from Japan registered a growth of 43.5% y-o-y to 566,646 t and those from China increased by 26.2% y-o-y to 296,676 t in this period.
Note: This article has been published in accordance with an article exchange agreeement between SteelDaily and SteelMint.
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