According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs of China, China’s monthly stainless steel exports, excluding February, remained stable in 2023, with an average export volume of around 350,000 tons. The cumulative exports totaled roughly 3.8 million tons in the first 11 months of last year, down by 8.6% year on year.

Due to factors such as inflation pressure and high interest rates in main markets for stainless steel consumption such as Europe and America, the activities of investment and consumption have weakened, resulting in a decrease in steel consumption. In the January-November period last year, China’s stainless steel exports to the EU declined by 64% year on year to around 140,000 tons, those to the US dropped by 24.3% year on year to 80,000 tons.

In addition to the shrunk demand for stainless steel in the global market, the trade barriers imposed by several countries against China are also a main reason for the decrease in China's stainless steel exports.