PRICING NOTICE: Proposal to launch China pig iron import price assessment

The new assessment will be for pig iron with maximum 1.25% manganese content and maximum 0.15% phosphorus content.

Market sources expect China to import pig iron in increasing volumes due to its evolving steel industry. Pig iron is an important feedstock for the converters in Chinese mills to produce crude steel, due to the stringent restrictions imposed on blast furnaces.

Importing pig iron is also in line with China’s goal of increasing the share taken by electric-arc furnaces (EAFs) in steelmaking, to reduce China’s high dependence on iron ore and to decrease carbon emissions from steelmaking processes. Pig iron is favored by many EAF operators to blend with scrap and other raw materials, for its high purity.

From January to December 2020, China imported approximately 5.3 million tonnes of pig iron, a five-times increase compared with 2019. In 2019, China imported 920,000 tonnes of pig iron. In the first five months of 2021, it imported 1.2 million tonnes of pig iron.

The proposed specifications for the price assessment are as follows:

Pig iron, import, cfr China, $ per tonne
Quality: Manganese 1.25% max; Phosphorus 0.15% max
Typical weight: 5kg per piece, max 25kg per piece
Quantity: Minimum 5,000 tonnes
Location: cfr main ports China
Timing: 6-12 weeks
Unit: $ per tonne
Payment terms: Letter of credit on sight
Publication: Fortnightly, Friday, by 6pm Shanghai time.

The consultation period for the proposed price assessment starts on Wednesday July 7 and will end on Monday August 9. The proposed changes, subject to market feedback, will be implemented on August 12.

To provide feedback on this price, or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to this price, please contact Tianran Zhao or Paul Lim by email at: pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading: “FAO: Tianran Zhao/Paul Lim, re: China Pig Iron Prices.”

To see all of Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents, go to https://www.metalbulletin.com/prices/pricing-methodology.html.