Environmental law will slash Chinese output

A nationwide environmental campaign in China is expected to slash output. Prices are expected to rise and smaller mills not complying with new laws are likely to close down.

Panzhihua Steel in China’s south western region confirmed recently that it would be closing 1.8Mt of steel capacity in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province.

In Hebei province, China’s largest steelmaking base by output, there are plans are afoot to eliminate high furnaces below 450 cubic metres and converters below 40 tonnes.

In Jiangsu province, the Nanjing municipal government has placed the steel industry on its ‘negative list’ – the naughty step, in other words – and will not be approving any steel projects, according to press reports.

Source: China Metals.