Finished Steel Imports Surged Significantly: EUROFER

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The EU steel imports continued to remain volatile in the initial half of 2021, said the steel market and outlook report published by the European Steel Association (EUROFER). In the second quarter of the year, the imports of long products surged by 42%, whereas the imports of flat products were up by 49%.

The imports of steel products from third countries recorded surge by 48% in the second quarter of the year. The boosted imports were primarily fuelled by improved steel demand across the EU region. It must be noted that the demand had dipped to substantially lower levels in the same period last year.

ALSO READ:

EUROFER Expects Robust Recovery in Steel Demand

EU Steel Orders Yet to Retrace Pre-Pandemic Levels

The cumulative steel imports by the region during the initial seven-month period of the year increased by 32% over the previous year. The imports of flat products and long products were up by 35% and 23% respectively. The largest sources of finished steel imports during the period were Turkey, Russia, South Korea, India and Ukraine, EUROFER noted.

The above five countries together accounted for around 59% of the total finished steel imports by the EU region. The largest increase in imports was from India and Ukraine, higher by 112% and 79% respectively. On the contrary, imports from South Korea reported notable decline by 20% over the previous year.