The Latin American Steel Association (Alacero) has reported that Chinese imports reached 8.3 million tons in 2014, which was up 56 percent compared to January/December 2013. Over the entire year of 2014, China exported 84.8 million tons of finished steel to the world. The South American region received 9.8 percent of these Chinese exports.
Global finished steel exports from China continued to increase very fast and reached 84.8 million tons in 2014, 57 percent year-on-year. Latin America ended the year with a share of 9.8 percent of total Chinese exports, showing a slight decrease of 0.1 percent compared to January/October 2014 (9.9 percent). The region was only surpassed by South Korea, which received 12.6 million tons in 2014. The third destination for Chinese steel was Vietnam, with 6.5 million tons between Jan/Dec 2014.
In December 2014, Latin America received 867.365 tons of finished steel from China, 18.8 percent more than November 2013 (729.865) and 56 percent more than December 2013 (556.319 tons). Brazil received the most imports at two million tons or 24 percent of the regional input. Argentina and Paraguay, however, maintained reduced imports levels.