The iron and steel industry has been the cornerstone of the development process for centuries, providing an essential core base of progress from buildings and bridges and automobiles to appliances.
To understand this growth potential, China has become the undisputed king in the global Iron and Steel industry. This happened due to China’s abundant iron ore reserves, cost-effective labor, government support, and other major policies. Due to these efforts, and capability, China’s Iron and Steel supply reached an 8-year high in 2024 with a 20% increase in value. Let’s dive deep into Iron and steel supply –
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China’s Steel Products: A Rising Growth Trajectory
There is no doubt that over the years, China has developed a well-constructive infrastructure that helped to boost production. Let’s understand this with the help of export value in 2024.
- Steel supply from China to the world increase by more than 20% in 2024, compared with 2023.
- The highest and lowest supply of iron and steel was observed during February and May with export values of $12.5 billion and $4.4 billion, respectively.
- Going thoroughly at the table, the supply of steel products increased till Feb and took a downward trend till May. This fluctuation continues till December 2024.
- China’s continued support through tax rebates, export tariffs, and currency management has helped steel exporters to grow even in a dynamic market.
| Months | Export Value of Steel Products |
| Dec | 7,128.5 |
| Nov | 6,660.1 |
| Oct | 7,821.8 |
| Sep | 7,306.2 |
| Aug | 7,173.6 |
| July | 6,122.7 |
| June | 5,340.0 |
| May | 4,465.5 |
| Apr | 7,172.4 |
| Mar | 7,749.6 |
| Feb | 12,598 |
| Jan | 6,958 |
Value USD I Million
China: The Undisputed King of Iron and Steel Industry
The growing pattern of steel production highlights China’s capabilities to produce goods even during challenging times. Iron and steel supply slightly declined by $6.1 billion in 2020. Surprisingly, the export took an upward momentum in 2023 with an increase in value by $33.6 billion. However, some geo-political tension, tariffs, and anti-dumping duties by countries caused a decline in China’s export of Iron and steel in 2023, which was regained in 2024 with a 20% increase in value. From 2019 to 2024, the export of iron and steel soared by 118%.
| Year | China’s export of Iron and Steel |
| 2019 | 39.4 |
| 2020 | 33.3 |
| 2021 | 66.9 |
| 2022 | 77.2 |
| 2023 | 69.3 |
| 2024` | 85.9 |
Value USD Billion
Chinese Iron & Steel Export to EU and its members
Bilateral trade between China and the EU is more than $800 billion. This demonstrates strong economic relations and dependency on each other to meet essential goods. In this humongous trade value, Iron and steel exported by China share a small portion with $4.1 billion in 2023, which value declined by $1.5 billion compared to 2022.
Among the member nations of the EU, Italy, Belgium, and Poland are the top importers of Iron and steel from China with a total value of $1490, $673, and $359 million respectively, in 2023.
Interestingly, Poland’s dependency on China for Iron and Steel increased year-on-year, from 2021 to 2023, Poland’s imports increased by %156.97. On the other, Italy and Belgium’s imports of Iron and steel declined by more than 50% from 2022 to 2023.
| Countries | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| EU – 27 | 3502.5 | 5664.2 | 4154.3 |
| Italy | 1293.9 | 2141.3 | 1490.2 |
| Belgium | 697.6 | 1202.2 | 673.2 |
| Poland | 139.7 | 246.8 | 359.0 |
Value USD Million
China’s export of Iron and Steel to Asia, Africa, and Europe
Asia, Africa, and Europe, collectively represent a diverse and vast market for Iron and steel. Each continent demonstrates its unique characteristics and demands for import needs. Let’s understand this –
Asia –
With rapidly growing economies and massive infrastructure projects, it is the largest consumer of iron and steel globally. From 2021 to 2023, Asia’s import of Iron and steel value stood at $43.4, $51, and $46 billion respectively. However, in 2023, the import value slightly decreased by $5 billion.
Africa –
Africa is less dependent on Iron and Steel imports from China than Asia, because, in Africa, some countries have developed their industries, which can meet their local demand. Despite this, Africa’s import value of Iron and steel stood at $6.4, $7.9, and $6.9 from 2021 to 2023.
EU –
Europe’s import of Iron and steel from China declined by $1.9 billion in 2023, compared to 2022. But, from 2021 to 2023, imports increased by $500 million.
| Year | Asia | Africa | Europe |
| 2021 | 43.4 | 6.4 | 5.2 |
| 2022 | 51.0 | 7.9 | 7.1 |
| 2023 | 46.0 | 6.9 | 5.7 |
Value USD Billion
Why are countries limiting China’s Export of Iron and Steel?
Over the years, several countries including the EU have accused China of dumping its steel products into their countries, with heavy government subsidies, and overcapacity, Chinese exporters are destroying their local market with lower prices.
To protect the interest of domestic manufacturers, the EU has placed a hefty tariff on Chinese steel around 18%. Apart from the EU, countries like America, and Brazil, have also introduced countermeasures to stop entering Chinese steel into their country.
Conclusion –
China’s massive capacity for producing iron and steel affected the global market by lowering costs at the international level. However, the lower price helps some nations that do not have Iron and steel reserves, but at the same time affects the domestic market profitability of some nations. Hence, it becomes important for countries to respect international markets and rules.
