China's Steel Output on RiseChina manufactured 61.18 million tons of steel in the first half of this year, up 3.4 percent from the same 1999 period.Pu Haiqing, director of the State Administration of the Metallurgical Industry (SAMI), said that the steel output for the six-month period was actually 280,000 tons less than the target set early this year. The SAMI has mapped out a plan to bring the country's annual steel output down to 110 million tons for this year. Pu said that 13 large steel enterprises, including the Capital and Shanghai Baoshan iron and steel groups, took a good lead in cutting down production and improving product quality. Domestic steel prices have returned to a normal level, but the balance of supply and demand is still fragile, Pu said. The metallurgical enterprises should still stick to the aims and measures set for reducing output in the next half of the year, Pu noted. |
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