It is reported that Hebei Province principally passed Advices on Implementation of National Revitalization Plan in Steel Industry on April 24th and underlined the point that the percentage of strips was expected to fall down to 10% which might be altered in the formal advices.

 

Local industrial experts said "To cut the percentage of strips is looked as one of the major problems involved in the advices and generally reflects the intention to regenerate steel industry in Hebei."

 

Mr Song Jijun deputy chairman of Hebei Metallurgical Industry Association said

 

1. Hebei is to adjust the product mix in consideration of the advices of decreasing strips.

 

2. Hebei is to control total capacity and eliminate obsolete capacity the effective way to control capacity is to sweep out outdated facilities.

 

He said that according to the calculation, the superfluous capacity nearly reached 21 million tonnes in the province last year. As learned, the capacity of Hebei Steel Group, the 2nd largest steelmaker in China, only recorded at 33 million tonnes last year not too much compared with the superfluous.

 

However, the target of 10% will be changed, since demands turned better. Mr Song noted strips could be wildly used to make furniture and agricultural mechanics, and those markets are rebounding at present.

 

Mr Song further noted, "Large mills, boasting technology and capital, should take over businesses of high-end products, while small ones focus on new, special or quality products to improve market shares. He said that in detail, large mills can pin attentions to develop imported products which unable to be churned out in China high end products and special products for national projects, like quality heavy plate for aircraft carrier."

 

Mr Song said "For small mills, they should approach the market to decide what to produce, rather than just follow the mainstream."

 

The province heads to develop auto steel, special steel and H-beam steel while decreases the shares of strip steel, one of low-end products. And, Hebei Jinxi Steel is picked out to example the advantage of producing high-end products, since the mill, together with the other two largest makers of H-beam steel, carried out production reduction and successfully pulled up H-beam price from CNY 3050 per tonne in March to CNY 3550 per tonne in May.

 

(Yanzhao Metropolis Daily)