Gao Yunhu, director of the Department of Energy Conservation and Comprehensive Utilization of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said on the 22nd that China will vigorously promote the comprehensive utilization of scrap resources and study industrial policies that are conducive to the recycling, scale and high-quality utilization of scrap steel enterprises. Continue to increase the application rate of scrap steel by encouraging steel companies to improve process technology and process structure, and increase the proportion of electric furnace steel.
Gao Yunhu was the above viewpoint published on the "2018 China Steel Raw Materials Market High-end Forum" held on the same day.
Scrap is an important raw material for the modern steel industry and a renewable resource for energy conservation and environmental protection. Research shows that for every ton of scrap steel used, it can reduce 4.3 tons of raw ore mining, reduce 1 ton of raw coal and 1.7 tons of new water consumption, and reduce 1.6 tons of carbon dioxide.
Affected by cost and economy, China's steel industry has always dominated the long process of using iron ore as raw material, and the short process of electric furnace with scrap steel as raw material accounted for a relatively low proportion. As the steel industry dismantles excess capacity and completely bans “strip steel”, China's scrap utilization has increased significantly.
“Steel prices have rebounded since last year. Although the cost of electric furnace steel is 300 to 500 yuan per ton higher than that of long-process steelmaking, there is still a certain profit margin for enterprises. Therefore, the investment in electric furnace steel is more enthusiasm.” Wang Fangjie, deputy secretary general of China Association of Scrap Steel Applications Say.
According to statistics, from January to October this year, the national consumption of scrap steel for steelmaking was 157 million tons, an increase of 37.8% year-on-year, and the scrap ratio exceeded 20%.
"China will usher in a large-scale scrapping period for steel products. By 2020, the annual output of scrap resources will exceed 200 million tons." Gao Yunhu said that at the same time, the average scrap steelmaking ratio in the world in 2017 is 35.5%. The United States and the European Union are 72.1% and 55.5% respectively. In contrast, China's scrap steelmaking ratio is still low, and there is still much room for development in scrap steel utilization.
In Wang Fangjie's view, 70% of the cost of electric furnace steel comes from raw materials. Although China has issued a preferential policy of “returning 30% of the VAT for qualified scrap steel enterprises that meet the requirements”, the implementation ratio is not high. It is recommended to implement a more substantial tax reduction and exemption for scrap steel processing products to increase the enthusiasm of steel enterprises in applying scrap steel and promote energy conservation and emission reduction.
Li Xinchuang, dean of the Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute, believes that as China's steel industry further develops into the middle and late peak areas, the proportion of electric furnace steel will gradually pick up. In the next few years, short-flow electric furnace steel will usher in a major development opportunity and enter a period of high growth.
"We will further strengthen overall planning, promote the processing capacity of scrap steel and the regional layout of steel production enterprises, accelerate the construction of a number of regional centralized processing and distribution centers; at the same time actively cultivate key enterprises and guide the rational flow of scrap resources." Gao Yunhu said .
He said that it will strengthen communication and coordination with the finance and taxation departments, promote the implementation of the VAT refund policy, and ensure that eligible enterprises will enjoy tax benefits.
