These measures are related to the need to reduce environmental
pollution
On March 13, the Chinese city district of Handan (Hebei Province)
introduced a second-level state of emergency to reduce environmental pollution.
As a result, industrial enterprises, including steel mills, have to adjust
their production plans. This was reported by SteelOrbis.
The timing of
the emergency will be announced later.
Starting
March 14, Hebei Province may experience high pollution weather due to
persistent weak southerly winds, high humidity and deteriorating conditions for
the diffusion of pollutants.
Industrial
enterprises are expected to adjust their production plans in a reasonable manner.
According to
the rules of the second-level emergency, only steel plants with minimum
emission levels included in Group A – in 2023, this included eight steel plants
in the city district – can operate normally. Others will have to reduce
emissions and production by 30-50%.
Steel mills in China’s Yunnan province in the southwest of the country
have begun to cut production in an effort to mitigate losses. According
to the region’s steel industry association, the move was driven by a
weaker-than-expected recovery in market demand after the New Year holidays and
higher iron ore and coal prices.
As GMK Center reported earlier, China’s steelmaking companies produced 1.019 billion tons of steel in 2023, up
0.6% year-on-year. Thus, the downward trend in the country’s steel industry has
stopped after two consecutive years of declining production. Pig iron
production in China in 2023 amounted to 871 million tons, up 0.7% y/y