2011 aluminium output to rise to 20m tons
CHINA, the world s top aluminium producer, could produce 20 million tons of primary aluminium this year out of capacity of 25 million tons, an official from the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association said yesterday.
The figures would represent a rise of 24 percent from last year s production and a 14 percent increase in capacity.
Steel industry reports profit of 2.91%
THE country s large and mid-sized steel makers reported an average profit margin of 2.91 percent last year due to high costs and excess capacity, said Deng Qilin, general manager of Wuhan Iron and Steel Group, on Tuesday.
This compared with around 6 percent for all industrial sectors, said Deng, who stepped down as president of the China Iron and Steel Association last month. The output of crude steel reached 630 million tons last year, exceeding the demand and prompting steel prices to fall again, Deng said. The rising costs of iron ore and coke imports also squeezed profit margins, he said.
