Apr.19 (LTIT) –Argentina's finished steel imports jumped 58.1% year on year in 2017 to 1.02 million mt from 646,000 mt in 2016, trade association Camara Argentina del Acero (CAA) said Wednesday.

Except for 2015, it was the highest imports in volume since 1998, the association said.

In the first quarter of the year, imports were 192,900 mt (down 1.6% year on year). In Q2 imports were 264,600 mt (up 54.6% year on year), in Q3 it was 262,200 mt (up 109.4% year on year), and in the last quarter of 2017 it was 301,600 mt (up 96.5% year on year).

Flat products -- all sheets and coils -- accounted for the highest volume at 632,200 mt, up 70.5% from 370,800 mt of 2016.

In second place, imports of longs steel products accounted for 291,300 mt, up 52.4% year on year from 191,200 mt of 2016, CAA said.

Railway exports were 41,400 mt in 2017, down 5.7% from 43,900 mt of 2016.

Welded tubes imports reached 30,100 mt in 2017, compared with 16,800 mt during 2016, a 79.2% difference.

Seamless tubes imports during 2017 were 26,300 mt, up 14.3% from 23,000 mt in 2016.

Neither destinations nor prices were disclosed.