China cuts excess Crude Steel capacity of 13 MT

CHINA July 26 2016 5:37 PM     

SHANGHAI (Scrap Register): China  has cut excess crude Steel capacity of 13 million tons in the first half of the  year which is less than a third of its annual target, said the vice industry  minister. But the country will step up efforts in the second half, he  added.

Feng Fei, regarded as the architect of China's plans to curb  profit-sapping capacity gluts in both Steel and coal said that China would reach  its target of 45 million tons for 2016. China's total Steel capacity stands at  1.13 billion tons, much higher than last year's output of 804 million tonnes,  according to official figures published by the industry ministry earlier this  year.

China had originally targeted overall Steel capacity cuts of 100  million to 150 million tons by 2020, but the total reduction over the next five  years was expected to hit 140 million tons, Feng Fei added.

China also  aims to cut coal output by 500 million tons in the coming three to five years,  and will close as much as 280 million tons of capacity this year alone.