(Sept 15): China’s top iron and steel industry body has called on domestic mills to rein in production and reduce inventories as oversupply and weak demand weigh on the market.

The China Iron and Steel Association (Cisa) urged mills to strictly implement production controls and exercise greater self-discipline in curbing output and reducing inventories, according to a statement posted on the group’s WeChat account on Tuesday.

The missive, jointly initiated by 44 of the country’s major steelmakers, including China Baowu Steel Group Corp and Shougang Group Co, is the latest effort to rein in the nation’s near one-billion-tonne-a-year steel industry.

China’s steel industry has been grappling with chronic overcapacity as a prolonged property downturn and slowing infrastructure growth erode domestic demand. Beijing has repeatedly pushed mills to end destructive price competition.

Weakening domestic demand and elevated inventories this year have led to “declining steel prices, a significant drop in profits for steel businesses and considerable pressure on mills’ productions and operations,” Cisa said.

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