China recorded a double-digit decline in steel exports from
December to January and the decline is likely to continue
throughout the year, the China Iron and Steel Association said on
Tuesday.
Qi Xiangdong, vice secretary-general of China Iron and Steel
Association, attributed the downward trend to a slowdown in
production and reduction in tax rebates.
Qi predicted that net exports of rolled steel and steel billets
would decrease by 10 million tons for the whole year.
According to the General Administration of Customs, China
exported 4.38 million tons of steel in January, up 142.2 percent on
last year. But the figure decreased by 21 percent from December
last year.
In January, the nation imported 1.48 million tons of steel, down
6.2 percent from a year earlier.
Last year China became the world's largest exporter of steel,
with an export volume of 43 million tons.
(Xinhua News Agency February 14, 2007)