World production of steel continues downward trend in 2009. Imports of steel products to the European Union from third countries have fallen 47% after several years of growth, according to the annual report of the French Steel Federation. Imports from China plummetted by 81% in 2009. They represented just 7% of EU imports in 2009, after a peak in 2007. The high demand in Europe led to a share of nearly 25% for China of all its imports. Russia and Ukraine have held their share on the European market, decreasing at the same pace as the market, and therefore finding themselves top of the leader board of exporter countries on the European market. Additionally, world production of steel, which has been falling since October 2008, has continued its downward trend until the second half of 2009. The drop was however just 8.1% over the whole year. This modest drop can be explained by a recent increase in production in China, where it has grown by 13.5%. Chinese production represented 46% of the world's production of steel in 2009, compared to 37% the previous year. On the other hand, global production of steel outside of China fell by 21% and, in the European Union, the production of steel has been down nearly 30%, bringing its total proportion in the world to 11%. Production fell in all of the major producer countries, notably Germany (-29%), Spain (-23%), France (-28%), Italy (-35%), the United Kingdom (-25%) and Poland (-27%). In North America, production was down 34%, and the zone now represents just 7% of the world total. The downturn was more marked in South America, with figures down 20%. (I.L./transl.fl)