According to data issued by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), China's five biggest steel producing groups - Hebei Iron and Steel, Baosteel, Wuhan Iron and Steel, Anben Iron and Steel Group and Jiangsu Shagang Group - recorded total crude steel production of 165 million mt in 2009, equivalent to only 29 percent of the country's production during the year. The percentage in question falls significantly short of the 45 percent target set for China's top five steel enterprises in the Chinese government's restructuring and revitalization plan for the domestic steel industry.
Meanwhile, the crude steel production of small and medium sized steel producing companies in China who are not members of the CISA increased rapidly in 2009, rising by 24.73 percent, with the crude steel output of CISA members rising at a slower rate of 11.27 percent. Commenting on these figures, CISA president Deng Qilin said that it will be more difficult to restructure the domestic steel industry given the slow development of large enterprises and the increasing number of small enterprises.