Gao Xiangming, vice president of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), has stated that China’s crude steel output amounted to 946 million mt in the January-November period of 2021, down 2.6 percent year on year, equal to 908 million mt of apparent consumption of steel, down 5.2 percent year on year.
Mr. Gao forecast that China’s crude steel output in the full year of 2021 will likely total 1.03 billion mt, down 35 million mt year on year. Inventory of steel in China reached its highest level for the year in early March, but declined since then. Supply and demand of steel remained basically in a balanced situation in the given year.
In the first 11 months of 2021, CISA members registered an overall gross profit of RMB 351.7 billion ($55.3 billion), up 86.46 percent year on year. The steel industry in China overcame difficulties caused by high raw material prices in the first 11 months of 2021, achieving its best-ever performance for the first 11 months of a year, Mr. Gao said.