Overall buying by the top five Asian importers (the top four of which were also the top four globally for 2023: France, with 21.4mn tons according to Kpler stats, was just ahead of Taiwan for number five) edged higher by 0.7% to 225mn tons for 2023 (see chart 1). This remains some 19mn tons (8%) below their record collective annual import figure of 243.9mn tons set in 2021. All accept Taiwan have seen volumes fall in the meantime, though China and India did post substantial rebounds for 2023 as prices softened from 2022’s record highs.