Li Xinchuang, deputy secretary-general of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), has stated that China's steel output is likely to exceed 700 million mt in the current year, based on the production levels in the first half of the year. The CISA had predicted at the start of the current year that China's steel output for the year would reach 660 million mt.
Mr. Li went on to say that the current situation in the domestic steel market is complicated, with consumption, outputs and costs at high levels, but with low profit margins.
In the January-May period of the current year, the aggregate net profit of large and medium-sized steel producing enterprises in China amounted to RMB 4.28 billion ($0.66 billion), with an average profit margin of just 2.91 percent.