Baosteel Group targets crude steel output of 33 million mt by 2015

On January 20, an official of Chinese steel giant Baoshan Iron and Steel (Baosteel Group) stated that in China's 12th five-year plan period (2011-2016) Baosteel plans to increase its annual production capacity of crude steel from 26 million mt in 2010 to 33 million mt by 2015.
 
The increased steel production capacity will mainly be for cold rolled sheet (CRS) products. At present, Baosteel Group's sales of cold rolled sheet account for 40-50 percent of its total sales. The Baosteel official also stated that the company will focus on high added-value products. Meanwhile, Baosteel expects steel demand from downstream industries to increase significantly in 2011, with 20 percent of consumption to come from the auto sector, 12-15 percent from the household appliance sector, and three to five percent from the mechanical sector. Nevertheless, steel demand from infrastructure and the real estate sector is expected to register a slowdown in 2011.