Posted on 21 Aug 2025
China's stainless steel imports fell markedly in July to hit a 64-month low of around 73,000 tonnes, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs (GACC) on August 20. Last month's total marked a noticeable contraction of 36,500 tonnes or 33.3% from June and was lower by 46,700 tonnes or 39% on year, the GACC statistics show.
Behind the decline was a drop in imports from Indonesia, the country's largest supplier of stainless products, and subdued domestic demand, Mysteel Global noted.
Most users of imported stainless in China, especially construction companies and bathroom and kitchen unit fabricators, stood on the market sidelines last month amid the traditional summer lull, thus controlling their purchases for stainless products, according to a market source.
For the first seven months of 2025, cumulative stainless steel imports totalled some 900,500 tonnes, marking a drop of 327,000 tonnes or 26.6% compared to the same period last year, the GACC data indicated.
Indonesia, Japan and South Korea remained the top three suppliers last month, shipping a total of 60,000 tonnes, accounting for 81.9% of China's foreign-sourced stainless materials.
In contrast, the country's stainless steel exports rose to approximately 416,300 tonnes in July, an increase of 26,300 tonnes or 6.7% on month. On a year-on-year basis, the quantity had also climbed by 5,700 tonnes or by 1.4%, the GACC statistics show.
Moreover, the sharp decline in China's stainless imports contributed to a net export volume of 343,200 tonnes in July, higher by 62,800 tonnes or 22.4% on month, and touching the highest for the year, according to the GACC data.
For the first seven months of 2025, China's cumulative export volume of stainless totalled some 2.92 million tonnes, up by 141,000 tonnes or 5.1% compared to the year-ago level.
Late last month, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and Ministry of Finance jointly announced that they were initiating an anti-dumping investigation into imports of nickel-added cold-rolled stainless coil, sheet, and strip originating in China and Taiwan, as Mysteel Global reported.
The Japanese government was responding to a complaint lodged in May by local makers including Nippon Steel that both the price and volume of stainless imports from the two countries had caused harm to their business.
Source:Mysteel Global
