Source: General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) and Mysteel Global, October 2026
China exported 10.49 million tonnes of steel in September 2026, a year-to-date high and 3.3 percent more than in August, according to customs data released on October 14. The figure was also 0.26 percent above September 2025, marking the fifth consecutive month in which shipments exceeded 10 million tonnes and the fourth straight month of year-on-year growth. Export value rose 5.2 percent month on month to 7.72 billion dollars, implying an average realised price of 735.7 dollars per tonne, up 1.9 percent from the previous month and continuing a gradual upward trend in unit values.
Cumulative exports for the first nine months reached 85.64 million tonnes, still 2.6 percent below the same period of 2025, although the decline narrowed from the 3 percent drop recorded over January-August. Export value over the nine-month period slipped only 0.8 percent to 60.76 billion dollars, as the average price of 709.4 dollars per tonne ran 1.8 percent higher than a year earlier. Imports continued to contract, falling to 492,000 tonnes in September and 4.07 million tonnes for January-September, down 10.5 percent year on year, while iron ore imports over the same period rose 4.1 percent to 954.97 million tonnes.
The sustained export push reflects persistent weakness in the domestic market rather than a surge in global appetite. Mysteel Global reported that daily trading volume of construction steel, including rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil, among the 237 trading houses it tracks nationwide averaged just 93,575 tonnes in September, 8.7 percent below the 102,437 tonnes per day recorded in September 2025. Hot-rolled coil inventories at the 194 commercial warehouses monitored by Mysteel had swollen to 4.77 million tonnes by September 30, some 17.5 percent higher than a year earlier. A prolonged property downturn, slow progress on infrastructure projects and a loss of momentum in manufacturing sectors such as automobiles and household appliances have all weighed on domestic consumption.
Demand from emerging markets in South Asia, Africa and Latin America has helped absorb the additional volumes, partly offsetting weaker shipments to traditional destinations such as Vietnam and South Korea. Analysts expect Chinese exports to remain resilient over the remainder of the year, but caution that rising trade barriers pose growing medium-term pressure. Recent measures include a United States final anti-dumping determination on Japanese hot-rolled steel and a preliminary ruling on corrosion-resistant steel from Taiwan, while Malaysia has responded to a 41.2 percent jump in Chinese semi-finished steel shipments with trade defence action of its own. For Chinese mills, the episode underlines a shift from volume growth towards higher value-added and more deeply processed products.
