An employee walks inside the China Steel production factory
in Kaohsiung May 18, 2010. China Steel, Taiwan's top steel maker, sees the
price of iron ore rising 30 - 50 percent in the next quarter, President Tsou
Jo-chi told Reuters in an interview, while taking a swipe at "greedy"
suppliers. REUTERS/Pichi Chuang (TAIWAN - Tags: ENERGY BUSINESS IMAGES OF THE
DAY) - RTR2E1CE
Reuters Images
Beijing has not yet
issued a mandate for zero growth in annual steel output, as it has in the past
two years
Siyi Liu, Amy Lv and Dominique Patton, Reuters
News
China is aiming to achieve a supply and demand
balance in its steel market this year, the industry ministry said on Friday,
even as the market faces mounting pressure from a floundering economy and
ongoing property market woes.
The world's top steelmaker has long struggled
with excess capacity, and this year has been further hit by weak demand from
the property market, its biggest consumer.
The statement issued jointly by the Ministry of
Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform
Commission and other government bodies, did not specify how the sector would
achieve a supply-demand balance.
Beijing has not yet issued a mandate for zero
growth in annual steel output, as it has in the past two years.
The statement also said Beijing will strengthen
its supervision of the iron ore market in 2023 to 2024, and set up a supply and
demand alerting system.
With heavy reliance on overseas supply, Beijing
will support Chinese iron ore companies in investing in transformation and will
promote companies cooperating in overseas iron ore exploration, especially in
neighbouring countries, according to the statement.
It also aims to expand imports of recycled
steel raw materials, the statement said.
China also aims to increase output of 10
non-ferrous metals by 5% in 2023-2024, the industry ministry said in a separate
document issued on Friday.
Output of 10 non-ferrous metals in the country
totalled 42.32 million metric tons in the first seven months this year, up 7%
from the same period a year earlier and the highest for the period, according
to the National Bureau of Statistics and Reuters' records. (Reporting by Siyi
Liu, Amy Lv and Dominique Patton; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)