According to statistics from the Stainless Steel Branch of China Iron and Steel Association, China produced 40.87 million tons of crude stainless steel in 2025, rising by 3.62% from the previous year. Apparent consumption also rose by 2.98% year on year, reaching 33.46 million tons.

While domestic output climbed, import volumes fell sharply by 19.09% year on year to 1.52 million tons, mainly driven by reduced shipments from Indonesia, which dropped by 21.6% to 1.23 million tons.

In terms of exports, total volume stayed nearly flat at 5.03 million tons, down by 0.26% only. However, because imports decreased so significantly, China’s net exports grew by 11.9% year on year, reaching 3.51 million tons for the year.