December 03, 2008

Chinese steel demand seen at 520 million tonnes in 2010

China Metallurgical Industrial Planning and Research Institute has forecast that China's demand for steel products may top 520 million tonnes in 2010.

Mr Li Xinchuang VP of the CMIPRI said that this year the domestic steel products demand would increase by around 10% and the country could meet most of its various steel product types needs.

He said that “China's domestic steel products occupied 95.8% of the domestic market in 2007.”

He added that the country's iron and steel industry is also facing some difficulties this year including the domestic shortage of coal, electricity and water resources, the rising price of iron ore and the weak capacity of the industry's research and development.