STEEL NEWS

Can Ferronickel shipments to China grow due to nickel cast iron deficit?

According to estimates by MetalsMarket.Net News, a sharp decline in imports of ferronickel to China from Indonesia may be a temporary phenomenon, as insufficient supplies of nickel cast iron within China can help increase the rate of material imports in April. Ferronickel imports in March amounted to 54.432 thousand tons, compared with 110 thousand tons in January, despite the recovery of industry after the celebration of the Chinese New Year. Meanwhile, nickel consumption in Indonesia, which supplies these products to China, more than tripled in 2018 compared to the previous year, to 165 thousand tons. In January-February, demand for nickel increased by 28%.

Indonesia's Nickel Iron and Stainless Steel Tsingshan Holding Group responded to weakened stainless steel markets in East Asia in early 2019 by cutting capacity. In general, Indonesia increased its exports of nickel iron and ferronickel to other Asian countries, while China launched an anti-dumping investigation. 

Meanwhile, Guatemala and Ukraine began small-scale deliveries of ferronickel in March to China. In Guatemala, according to INSG, alloy production at the Fenix plant grew by almost 3,000 tons (23%) and continued to grow in 2019 - in the process of slowly increasing output to a nominal capacity of 27 thousand tons per year.