Posted on 02 May 2008
Steel export decline drives down China's foreign sales of high-energy-consuming products
China's policies
to curb export of high-energy-consuming products have partly paid off, as a
sharp decline of steel exports drove down the country's foreign sales of such
goods by a big margin in February.
Sources with the
General Administration of Customs said on Friday that in February, China sold
abroad 3.11 million tons of rolled steel, a decrease of 1.26 million tons, or
28.9 percent, from the same month of last year.
Exports of steel
billets were only 2,000 tons, down 99.7 percent.
February saw China export
7.34 million tons of high-energy-consuming products, namely rolled steel, iron
alloy, steel billet, pig iron, alluminum, copper, cement and chemical
fertilizer, down 10.5 percent.
However, it was
noteworthy that apart from steel exports, foreign sales of other
high-energy-consuming products recorded increases by different degrees.
The nation
exported 1.09 million tons of chemical fertilizer in February, up 120 percent
on price hikes in international markets, 2.67 million tons of cement, up 16.1
percent, and 39,000 tons of pig iron, up 7.2 percent.
The customs
sources said in the first two months, China's exports of high-energy-consuming
products stood at 16.66 million tons, down 0.2 percent. But the export value
went up 14 percent to1.01 billion U.S. dollars.
