China Steel Wire Rod Exports Grew 13.1% in 2025 While Unit Values Fell

China exported 2.96 million tonnes of steel wire rod in 2025, 13.1 per cent more than in 2024, according to Chinese customs data compiled by Huaon Research and published in February 2026. The increase amounts to roughly 340,000 tonnes.

Export value did not follow. Shipments were worth US$2.37 billion, 0.4 per cent below the previous year. Average unit value fell to US$802 per tonne from US$909.7, a drop of US$107.7 per tonne, or 11.8 per cent.

The monthly figures show where the tonnage came from. April 2025 was the strongest month by volume at 280,000 tonnes, up 18.3 per cent year on year. December was the strongest by value at US$223.1 million.

Read together, the three numbers describe a price-led year. Tonnage rose by double digits while total value stayed flat, which means the average tonne left China cheaper than it did in 2024. For wire drawing and strand producers this is familiar ground: export competition has been running on price, and buyers in Europe, the Middle East and Latin America have been comparing landed cost rather than tonnage.

It also sets the terms for 2026. With EU carbon reporting now running in its definitive phase, the landed cost calculation has gained a line item that was not there before. When quotations sit within a few tens of dollars per tonne of each other, documentation, coating specification and delivery reliability carry more weight than a headline price.

Source: China customs data, compiled by Huaon Research (February 2026).