Chinese steel mills are likely to import more pig iron, hot-briquetted iron (HBI) and steel scrap to feed basic oxygen furnaces in 2021 due to the stringent restrictions imposed on blast furnaces in China, market participants told Fastmarkets recently.
The China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) is actively advocating more cuts to the country's pig iron production to achieve this year's goal of reducing crude steel output and pollution from mills.
The measures imposed so far include cuts to blast furnace operating rates in key steelmaking regions in China. In northern China's Tangshan city, the country's steelmaking hub, local authorities are restricting steel production by 30% until the end of this year. Handan city, which is located in the same province, the local government has asked steel mills to cut their emissions until June 30.
China's Ministry of Environment and Ecology recently sent a third batch of inspectors to check on steel mills' compliance with prescribed operating rates and emission limits, an industry analyst told Fastmarkets.
"Steel mills in other parts of China are likely to take similar measures, although the reduction rates may...