[Ferro-Alloys.com] World crude steel production for the 64 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (worldsteel) was 154.4 million tonnes (Mt) in January 2020, a 2.1% increase compared to January 2019.

China’s crude steel production for January 2020 was 84.3 Mt, an increase of 7.2% compared to January 2019*. India produced 9.3 Mt of crude steel in January 2020, down 3.2% on January 2019. Japan produced 8.2 Mt of crude steel in January 2020, down 1.3% on January 2019. South Korea’s crude steel production was 5.8 Mt in January 2020, a decrease of 8.0% on January 2019.

According to the General Department of Customs, Vietnam imported a total 944,865 tonnes of steel in January, a YoY drop of 18 percent. The strongest falls were from Russia down 97 percent, Brazil down 90 percent and Mexico down 72 percent. However, most steel imports came from India with 218,043 tonnes, rising 661.6 percent from the same time last year. Imports also surged from France up 14.9 times and Hong Kong up 823.3 percent.

Ukraine's interagency commission on international trade has decided to impose a 50.09% anti-dumping duty on imports of steel wires and wire ropes from Russia into Ukraine for five years. On the basis of a complaint filed by PJSC Stalkanat-Silur Production Association, the interagency commission on international trade decided to launch an anti-dumping investigation into imports into Ukraine of twisted wire ropes and wire ropes from Russia. The commission found that the applicant's share in the total production of these goods in Ukraine exceeds 50%. In 2016-2018, Stalkanat-Silur's production capacity decreased by 10.9%, domestic sales fell by 1.9%, and employment at the enterprise dropped by 47.7%.

• [Editor:kangmingfei]