Steel import and export prices by country
One page per reporting country: what it imported and exported by product, the unit value it paid, and which partner countries supplied it.
Last updated
Europe
Türkiye & CIS
Middle East
Africa
Every reporting market, side by side
Import totals and median customs unit value by market
| Market | Year | Headings reported | Tonnes imported | Median USD/t |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Egypt | 2024 | 10 | 2,272,868 | 1,038 |
| Germany | 2024 | 10 | 22,350,745 | 1,022 |
| Iraq | 2024 | 10 | 927,038 | 822 |
| Kazakhstan | 2024 | 10 | 2,196,359 | 692 |
| Nigeria | 2024 | 10 | 381,399 | 809 |
| Romania | 2024 | 10 | 3,371,357 | 949 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2024 | 10 | 4,263,928 | 838 |
| Türkiye | 2024 | 10 | 12,081,930 | 881 |
| United Arab Emirates | 2023 | 10 | 5,918,217 | 821 |
Median across the headings each market reported, not a weighted average. The year is the market own latest complete year, which is why it differs between rows.
What a country column actually measures
Each market on this page reports its own trade to its own customs authority, and what we publish is the arithmetic on those declarations: total declared value divided by total declared net mass, for one HS heading, for one year. It is called a customs unit value, and it is not a price assessment. Nobody was surveyed and no judgement was applied.
That makes it unusually hard to argue with and unusually easy to misread. It is an average across every specification, thickness and grade that crossed the border under that code, so it will rarely match any single quotation. Its value is in comparison — between markets, between years, and against the quotation in front of you.
Why two countries differ on the same heading
Four reasons, in rough order of size. Product mix: a market importing 0.3 mm coated coil sits far above one importing 4 mm commercial sheet under the same code. Freight distance: a CIF declaration carries the ocean freight, and an import from the next country over does not. Trade measures: anti-dumping duty and safeguard quotas change what is bought and from whom, not just what it costs. And declaration practice: some administrations report CIF, others FOB, and the difference is real money.
None of these are errors. They are why a single world price does not exist, and why the right question is not "what is the steel price" but "what is this heading worth into this market".
Compare like with like: same HS heading, same year, same flow direction.
Import and export unit values differ because converters buy semi-finished and sell finished.
A market that reported few headings has a thinner average — the count is in the table.
Annual data is complete and revised; sub-annual customs data is neither.
Reading a market page against a quotation
Take the heading that matches the product, read the unit value for the destination market, and treat it as a band rather than a target. A quotation inside roughly 0.7 to 1.4 times that figure is ordinary; one far outside it is worth a question, and the question is usually about specification rather than about price.
Where a quotation sits well below the customs average, the likely answers are a thinner or commercial grade, a shorter freight leg, or a different Incoterm. Where it sits well above, the likely answers are a narrow width, a tight tolerance, a certificate level, or a small quantity.
Coverage and how it changes
A market appears here only when it reported the heading in the year shown, so the list is the source's coverage, not an editorial selection. Countries that report late, report in aggregate, or suppress a heading for confidentiality simply do not appear against it.
The year each market shows can therefore differ. Customs data is published on national schedules, and a market whose latest complete year is older keeps its own year in the table rather than being forced into a common one. The year column is not decoration — it is part of the figure.
Common questions
Which country has the cheapest steel?
The question does not have a single answer, because the cheapest customs unit value usually belongs to whichever market imports the most basic product mix under that heading. Read the table by heading and by mix rather than by headline: a low average often means commercial grade, not a bargain.
Are these import prices or mill prices?
Import prices — specifically, declared customs value divided by declared net mass at the border. Mill prices are what a producer asks; these are what importers actually declared having paid, averaged across everything that crossed under the code.
Why is the data annual rather than monthly?
Because that is how the source publishes it in complete, revised form. Sub-annual customs data is partial and heavily revised afterwards, so a monthly figure would move for reasons that have nothing to do with the market.
Can I use a market figure to negotiate?
As a sanity band, yes. A quotation far outside the range for the destination is worth questioning. As a target, no — the spread of specifications inside one HS heading is wide enough that the average will rarely match a single item.
Why do the totals differ from national statistics I have seen?
Usually because of which headings are included. A national "steel imports" figure may cover the whole of chapter 72 and 73; the totals here cover only the headings published on this site, and the market page lists exactly which ones they are.