December 02, 2008

Ferroalloy business to be restricted during Olympics

It is reported that most ferroalloy producers in Beijing and provinces nearby have received notices from the government that environment protection will be strengthened during the Olympics and have been asked to suspend or restrict production.

According to many producers in Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shanxi and so on, local governments have announced to launch strict and frequent inspections in near future and required producers to better control pollution.

As per report most goods shipments to Tianjin Port a major port for FeSi exports, have to go through Beijing. This implies FeSi transportations will face great pressure and sport supply will become tight once transportations in Beijing and regions nearby are restricted.

A producer noted that "We have not gotten official documents hence we can not make sure to what extent the output will be influenced. But we believe the output will be impacted more or less."

Ferroalloy producer in Gansu's Lanzhou said "Transportations will be restricted during the Olympics, thus the shipment of goods from North China, including Inner Mongolia and Gansu will be delayed. This may lead to short supply."

Shanghai based trader said "The worry has affected the market. Foreign buyers have strengthened purchasing of FeSi and Mn series alloys, in fear of decreasing supply in the third quarter. "

(Sourced from MySteel.net)