Statistics from the China General Administration of Customs show that the country's billet export declined by 40 percent in April after the abolition of the export tax rebate policy for the industry.

According to a report in the Beijing-based Economic Information Daily, the country exported 800,000 tons of billet last month, a drop of 660,000 tons compared with March.

Meanwhile, steel exports also decreased to 2.07 million tons in April, 140,000 tons less than the previous month, as the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation decided to slash the export drawback rate for steel from 13 percent to 11 percent starting on May 1, the report said.

The move aimed to discourage exports to ensure the domestic demand for steel.

However, due to the rapid increase of billet exports in the first quarter, China's billet exports still stood at 3.67 million tons in the first four months of this year, 3.2 million tons more, or up 676.4 percent, compared with the same period last year.

Steel exports amounted to 7.26 million tons, representing a year-on-year increase of 196.2 percent.

Both the steel price and exports dropped following the Chinese government's series of macro-control measures to ensure a "soft landing" of the overheating economy, which grew 9.5 percent in the first quarter of this year.

(Xinhua News Agency May 30, 2005)