A worker at Tonglin Fuxin Iron and Steel Co controls a machine to hoist hot-rolled ribbed steel bars in Tonglin, East China's Anhui Province on Monday. The company has strengthened production amid the novel coronavirus fight to guarantee sufficient supply for key national projects. Its daily output can now reach 5,000 tons, recovering to its normal level of 2019. Photo: cnsphotos

Coronavirus has further cooled China's already chilling steel exports. Industry analysts predicted China's steel exports to slump by around 8 percent in the first quarter, as overseas orders are cancelled and cut-off logistics delay shipments. 

Luo Tiejun, deputy director of the China Iron and Steel Industry Association, said during a press conference on Saturday that because of the epidemic, China's steel exports will see a significant decline in the first quarter, and February will see a "relatively large" fall in exports.

Wu Wenzhang, president and founder of steelhome.cn, told the Global Times on Sunday that China's steel exports could fall by 1.5 million tons, or 8 percent, in the first quarter, as the government's anti-coronavirus measures, including closing of ports and highways, made it hard for steel companies to ship products overseas.  

On the other hand, orders from overseas clients are also slashing as they express concern for the length and influence of the virus, industry insiders said. 

"As far as we know, some overseas clients have canceled their steel-buying orders with Chinese companies because they worry about the possibility of the virus spreading through the delivery of the products," said Wang Guoqing, research director at the Beijing Lange Steel Information Research Center.

"Also, as the prices of Chinese steel products fall continuously amid the epidemic, clients are unsatisfied with the previously settled price," Wang told the Global Times. 

According to Wang, cancellation of orders is rare but the coronavirus epidemic is like a thorn that makes many overseas clients think twice before making orders. 

Wang Bing, a person in charge of Longze Steel Products, a steel trading company in East China's Shandong Province, said that there have been basically "no new overseas orders" after the Spring Festival holiday, when coronavirus infections peaked. 

"Overseas orders have dropped by about 30 percent in February compared to the same period last year as many foreign customers are worried about the coronavirus infection and delivery. The logistics is not smooth and some transportation ports have not recovered yet," said Wang, whose customers are mainly from Africa and Southeast Asia.

Now, about 16,000 tons of steel is piling up at Wang's company. "I figure it will take half a year for exports to recover," Wang told the Global Times. 

China's steel exports slumped by 7.3 percent year-on-year to more than 64 million tons in 2019, customs data showed.

According to Wang Guoqing, with the China-US trade relations thawed, the sudden outbreak of the coronavirus has delayed the recovery of China's steel exports. 

But experts stressed that things are still not too bad for steel exports as demands are likely to rebound in the second quarter when the disease has good chances of being put under control. 

Luo said that steel exports in April and May should outperform the first quarter, but would still see a yearly fall. 

Wu nevertheless predicted that China's steel exports would see a slight year-on-year increase in the first half of this year. "With transportation bans being lifted, exports will increase as a result," he said, but stressing that exporting price will likely edge down along with fall of steel prices in China.