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Expert: China's steel exports may contract 80%

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-03-19 10:10

BEIJING -- China's steel exports could contract 80 percent by volume this year, more than the previously forecast 50 percent, a senior domestic industry expert told an industry conference Wednesday.

In this September 10, 2004 file photo, two workers walk past rolls of steel at a Baosteel production line in Shanghai, China. [Agencies]

Shan Shanghua, secretary-general of the China Steel Industry Association, said steel exporters faced a "grim" situation as the world economy remained weak.

Customs statistics have shown a big drop in steel exports, which fell 9.6 percent month-on-month to 1.56 million tonnes in February.