It is reported that Mr. Feng Bingwen, vice-president of Guangzhou Iron and Steel Association, points out that the steel output reaches 480 million tons from Jan. to Oct. in 2007, up 18.1% over the same period of last year, but the growth rate is lower than last year. Taking the great demand for steel in the process of urbanization, industrialization and internationalization into consideration, he thinks the demand for steel is still on the rise, and at present, the supply can basically meet the demand.
However, he expresses that although the export this year is doubled than last year, the export in the second half of this year drops month by month, even appears negative growth in October. Under the condition that domestic production increase quickly and the export gets restraint, the release of production will cause huge pressure on the home market, and the balanced situation of supply and demand may be broken. He thinks that once the balance is broken and the price of iron ore is to rise constantly, some small manufactories may go bankrupt and the export of cheap products will continue falling.
