Baosteel expects China’s 2023 steel output flat to lower vs last year

CHINA’S biggest listed steelmaker, Baoshan Iron & Steel, expects the country’s 2023 crude steel output to be flat or slightly lower than last year, an executive said on Friday (Apr 28), in line with broader market expectations.

China’s huge steel market is waiting for official confirmation that Beijing will continue a mandate started in 2021 to cap steel output to help it meet emissions goals.

The comments on output were made by chairman Zou Jixin during a briefing after the release of Baosteel’s first-quarter earnings.

Baosteel produced 11.87 million tonnes of iron and 12.83 million tonnes of steel in the first quarter of 2023.

It is aiming to produce 48.77 million tonnes of iron and 50.89 million tonnes of steel this year, the company also said during the briefing.

China, the world’s largest steel producer, adopted controls on crude steel output in 2021 after pledging to reach peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

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Its output in 2022 fell by 1.7 per cent year-on-year to 1.018 billion tonnes.

The consolidation in Chinese steel industry will accelerate in the coming three to five years and large firms would hold a 65 per cent share of the domestic market within five years, up from 43 per cent currently, Zou added. REUTERS