East China's Jiangsu Province turned from a net steels importer to a net exporter in the first three quarters of this year, local customs sources said on Tuesday.

Between January and September, Jiangsu sold abroad 4.86 million tons of rolled steel, a year-on-year growth of 130 percent. The exports were valued at 2.4 billion U.S. dollars, up 110 percent.

Over the nine months, the province's imports of rolled steel went down 45.7 percent to 1.59 million tons, valued at 1.77 billion U.S. dollars, down 39.6 percent.

Local customs sources said of the total exports, 1.09 million tons went to the Republic of Korea, up 62.1 percent, 1.03 million tons to the European Union, up 133 percent, and 668,000 tons to the United States, up 160 percent.

Steel plate exports made up 2.44 million tons, or 50.3 percent of the province's total, up 190 percent, while steel plate imports accounted for 1.43 million tons, or 89.8 percent of the total, down 47.4 percent, the sources added.

Source: Xinhua