Beijing may postpone new export duties for ferroalloys

Beijing may postpone new export duties for ferroalloys

Beijing’s new export duty policy for ferroalloys will likely be postponed amidst mounting opposition from domestic producers and a decrease in ferroalloy export volume. The policy, scheduled to take effect in January 2006, was drawn up in order to conserve energy and protect the environment. Beijing has yet to disclose the actual details of the policy, and this has only heightened the opposition from domestic producers. China’s ferroalloy export has been declining since early this year. In the first nine months of the year, China exported 1.308 million metric tons of ferroalloy products, down 11.3% year on year. The export volume in each quarter was as follows: 434’000 metric tons for first quarter, 534’000 metric tons for second quarter and 340’000 metric tons for the third quarter. The proposed export duties are the latest in a series of moves that Beijing has taken this year in order to control the ferroalloy industry. In January, Beijing canceled the eight percent export rebate on ferroalloy exports. Then, in August, Beijing banned the processing trade of ferroalloy. The appreciation of the yuan against the dollar has not helped either, as exporters’ costs skyrocketed while their sales prices declined. SteelOrbis Shanghai