Crude steel output from Columbia fell by 1.6pc to 113,033mt in August, from 114,925mt in August 2019, according to the latest figures released by the Colombian Steel Committee (Andi).
However, long steel production rose by 4.2pc to 116,262mt in August, from 111,563mt produced in the same month of 2019. In July, the South American country imported 36,637mt of long steel, down 55.8pc from 82,997mt imported in the same month the prior year, it said.
Colombia’s crude steel production has shown signs of recovery since June as the construction and manufacturing industries resumed operations in May after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. For reference, the nation produced 108,498mt in July and 81,846mt in June, according to Andi.
Columbia consumes 1.5mn mt of steel products per year, of which, about 1mn mt is produced domestically, while the balance 500,000mt is imported.