Small steel mills in South Korea are plagued by the rise in the price of electrodes

According to analysis by South Korean experts, the main reason for the increase in electrode prices is a serious shortage of electrode supply in China. In the near future, it is expected that the electrode prices will continue to rise, and the cost burden of Korean electric arc furnace steelmaking plants will further increase.
It is reported that China's electrode prices began to rise from the end of July last year, from 2,000 US dollars / ton rose to 10,000 US dollars / ton or more, in April this year, the electrode prices exceeded 14,000 US dollars / ton.
As small domestic steel mills in South Korea are very sensitive to the rise in electrode prices, they have begun to tide over the current crisis through re-exports of third countries from Japan, India and Europe. According to reports, the average price of Chinese electrodes entering the Korean market was approximately US$14,500 per ton in April, while the average import prices of electrodes in countries such as Japan, India and Europe were US$8,609/ton, US$6,238/ton and 1.11 respectively. Million US dollars/ton