The Chinese government will continue to curb excessive growth of
steel exports to reduce energy consumption and cut pollution, said
the country's economic planner in a report issued on Wednesday.
"Exporting low-end steel products that devour a lot of energy
and contaminate the environment is by no means acceptable," said
the report from the National Development and Reform Commission
(NDRC).
The steel industry accounts for 15 percent of the country's
total energy consumption and discharges 14 percent of the total
pollutants, according to the report.
On May 21, the government imposed export tariffs of five to 10
percent on more than 80 steel products, including steel wire, sheet
and plate, and raised export tariffs from 10 to 15 percent on
primary commodities such as steel billets, ingots and pig iron from
June 1. The government also scrapped or lowered a range of export
rebates in April to curtail mounting exports and curb excessive
production.
"It may take for a while before the measures take effect and
current demand for steel remains high in the global market," said
the report, indicating fast growth of steel export would
continue.
The NDRC called for close monitoring of the effects of the
policies and reiterated the principle of developing the steel
industry based on domestic demand.
Analysts believe the policies would fail to reduce exports in
the short run, but would probably start to take effect from
July.
Export figures for May would still be "striking", said Zhou
Xizeng and Li Hongliang, of CITIC Securities, as steel firms aimed
to boost exports in anticipation of stricter controls.
As the world's largest exporter of steel products, China
exported more 20 million tons in the first four months, and some
consulting firms estimate this year's exports at around 30 million
tons.
(Xinhua News Agency May 31, 2007)