China experienced a double-digit decline in foreign sales of high energy consuming products in the first half as efforts to reduce exports of such goods began to pay off, the General Administration of Customs said in Beijing on Wednesday.

The nation slashed and scrapped tax rebates for high energy consuming, high polluting and resource products as of July 1, 2007, as part of its effort to realize energy efficiency and protect the environment.

Between January and June, China sold 53.13 million tons of high energy consuming products abroad, mainly rolled steel, iron alloy, steel billet, pig iron, aluminum, copper, cement and fertilizer. The figure was 17.1 percent from the same period last year.

Foreign sales of rolled steel were down 20.2 percent, while cement dropped 18.4 percent.

In June alone, exports of high energy consuming products were 8.27 million tons, down 32.6 percent. The total included 1.68 million tons of cement, down 51.3 percent and 649,000 tons of fertilizer, a drop of 40.3 percent.

(Xinhua News Agency September 4, 2008)