Posted on 09 Sep 2025
China's steel exports increased during the first eight months of this year, with the total export volume jumping by 10% on year to reach 77.49 million tonnes, according to the latest data released by the General Administration of Customs (GACC) on September 8.
For August alone, the country's steel exports reached 9.51 million tonnes, down by 3.3% from July, though up by a small 0.1% compared with August 2024, Mysteel Global calculated based on the Customs data.
Most of the steel shipments during August were mainly fulfilling orders signed about two months earlier in June, Mysteel Global noted.
In June, the rainy season in southeast Asia – China's largest steel export market – kept disrupting local construction activities, dampening demand for steel items. Meanwhile, uncertainties created by Washington's tariff war also continued to weigh on the export market, leading overseas buyers to pause or postpone buying activities.
On an annualized basis, the January-August record would put the calendar 2025 total at 116.2 million tonnes, which would beat the previous record set in 2015 of 112.4 million tonnes, Mysteel Global notes.
Though restrictions on exports from China have continued to tighten this year, and though the country's steel items continue to be targeted in trade cases – no fewer than 30 newly-mounted or newly-concluded cases between January and June alone this year – the country continues to maintain overall export volumes by adjusting destinations and product types to avoid anti-dumping (AD) measures, according to market watchers.
On the same day as the GACC was publishing its steel exports data, in Seoul, South Korea's Ministry of Economy and Finance announced that following an AD investigation into hot-rolled coil imports from Japan and China, it had issued a preliminary determination of dumping and will impose provisional duties for four months from September, with those on China-origin coils ranging from 28.16% to 33.10%.
Over the next few months however, China's steel export volumes are expected to show on-month falls as Beijing strengthens export controls over tax filing and other processes that are to take effect in October, as Mysteel Global has reported.
During this year's January-August period meanwhile, China also imported 3.98 million tonnes of steel products, decreasing by 14.1% on year, according to the GACC's data.
Source:Mysteel Global
