China Iron and Steel Association on Monday said that the country's annual steel output is expected to be lower this year than in 2020, a media report stated.
The average daily output of crude steel was down 21.2 per cent year-on-year in September at around 2.5 million tonnes, Caixin Global reported citing National Bureau of Statistics figures.
Wang Yingsheng, the industry association's deputy secretary-general and chief economist, said that if output remains at this level in the fourth quarter, total annual production will likely be down about 30 million tonnes to just over 1 billion tonnes.
If that is the case, the industry would successfully meet the government's target of decreasing annual output year-on-year, Wang added.
Stressing that unlike last year, when output bottomed out in the first four months due to COVID-19, Wang said that this year's output started at a higher level and declined gradually during the second half.
The communist regime has sought to rein in the steel industry for several years and since 2017, steelmakers have had to show that plans to add capacity must include the retirement of a comparatively greater amount of existing capacity.
It rose up the political agenda when last year China announced its plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. The steel sector accounts for about 15 per cent of the country's carbon emissions, according to Caixin Global.
( With inputs from ANI )
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