Operation of the steel industry and non-ferrous industry from January to July 2022

      According to the information released by the National Development and Reform Commission, the overall operation of the steel industry and the non-ferrous metal industry from January to July 2022 is as follows:

     Steel industry：

     1. Steel production has declined. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the national output of pig iron and crude steel from January to July was 510.897 million tons and 609.280 million tons, down 4.5% and 6.4% year-on-year respectively.

     2. The import and export volume of steel products declined in general. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, from January to July, the country exported a total of 40.07 million tons of steel, a year-on-year decrease of 6.9%. Among them, 6.67 million tons of steel were exported in July, an increase of 17.9% year-on-year and a month-on-month decrease of 11.8%. From January to July, the country imported a total of 6.56 million tons of steel, a year-on-year decrease of 21.9%. Among them, 790,000 tons of steel were imported in July, a year-on-year decrease of 24.8%.

      3. Steel prices have dropped significantly. According to the monitoring of the China Iron and Steel Association, China's comprehensive steel price index at the end of July was 111.46 points, down 11.06 points or 9% month-on-month; down 42.02 points, or 27.4%, year-on-year, a year-on-year decline for four consecutive months.

      4. The cumulative decline of imported ore. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, the national import volume of iron ore and its concentrate from January to July was 626.82 million tons, down 3.4% year-on-year. Among them, the national import volume of iron ore and its concentrate in July was 91.24 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 3.2%.

      Nonferrous Industry:

      1. The output of smelting products increased slightly. According to the data of the National Bureau of Statistics, the output of ten kinds of non-ferrous metals in my country from January to July was 38.296 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 1.4%. Among them, the output of refined copper, lead and primary aluminum was 6.202 million tons, 4.258 million tons and 22.945 million tons respectively, up 2.4%, 3.6% and 1.1% year-on-year respectively; the output of zinc was 3.783 million tons, down 2.5% year-on-year.

      2. The output of processed materials varies. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the output of copper processing materials from January to July was 12.191 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 4.2%; the output of aluminum products was 35.016 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 2.9%.

      3. The import volume of copper and aluminum ore increased rapidly. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, from January to July, the national import volume of copper ore and its concentrate was 14.37 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 7.4%; the national import of aluminum ore and its concentrate was 75.81 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 17.6%.