China: Billet imports down 25% in Jan-Jul'21

China's billet import volumes fell considerably by 25% y-o-y to 5.82 mn t in Jan-Jul'21 as against 7.72 mn t in Jan-Jun'20, according to recent data released by customs. Also, imports dropped to 0.88 mn t from 1.17 mn t in Jul'21, a m-o-m drop of 25%. Steel production cuts and quarantine delays slowed down import bookings.