China's stainless steel production exceeds 30 million tonnes in 2020

China's crude stainless steel production for the full year of 2020 exceeded 30 million tonnes, reaching 30.14 million tonnes for the first time in history, up 739,400 tonnes or 2.5% from last year, according to the latest data released by Stainless Steel. ... Council of China Association of Special Steel Enterprises (CSSC).

In total production, 300 series chromium-nickel stainless steel remained the dominant brand, accounting for 47.71% of total production last year, up 1.82 percentage points from 2019, and 400 series stainless steel also increased by 0 , 94 percentage points. by 19.66% last year.

In contrast, the share of 200 series chrome and manganese stainless steel in China's total production fell 2.78 percentage points year on year to 32% last year, as stainless steel production fell 5.7% year over year. , according to CSSC data. ...

Raw stainless steel production in China in 2020 (million tonnes)
The increase in overall stainless steel production was mainly driven by improved consumption of stainless steel, as end-user demand has gradually rebounded since the second quarter of last year, when the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic across the country as a whole was brought under control through the government. measures to combat the spread of the virus, noted in Mysteel Global.

China's apparent stainless steel consumption is estimated at 25.6 million tonnes in 2020, according to CSSC, increasing at a fast pace of 6.5% year on year, equivalent to 1.6 million tonnes, up from 2 million tonnes annual production growth. 5%.

Domestic stainless steel warehouses began to deplete at the end of March due to a recovery in end-user demand. Mysteel's weekly survey at the time found that stocks of all grades of stainless steel in commercial warehouses in Wuxi and Foshan, China's two major shopping malls, had fallen to normal levels by mid-June, with total volume as of June reaching 472,957 tonnes. 11, which is 1.9% less than a year earlier.

Domestic stainless steel prices showed signs of recovery in mid-April as much pressure from high inventories eased somewhat, although average price was lower than in 2019 throughout 2020, Mysteel Global notes.

For example, the average price of a 304 /2B 2mm cold rolled stainless steel coil in Wuxi in Jiangsu province in eastern China averaged 14,381 yuan /ton ($ 2,221 /ton) in stock, including 13% VAT during 2020, which down 734 yuan from the previous year, according to Mysteel.

According to CSSC, due to strong domestic demand, imports of stainless steel to China have grown