TAIWAN STEEL FIRM SEES LOWER EXPORTS, MORE OUTPUT
State-owned <China Steel Corp> said its
steel exports will drop to some 600,000 tonnes in the year
ending June 30, 1987 from more than 810,000 in 1985/86.
    Production by the company, Taiwan's largest steel maker, is
expected to rise to 3.33 mln tonnes from 3.27 mln, a spokesman
told Reuters.
    He attributed the export decline to the rise in the Taiwan
dollar, which has eroded the competitiveness of the company's
products against those from South Korea.
    The spokesman said the company is undergoing an expansion
project which calls for a boost in production to 5.65 mln
tonnes a year from the current level. The project, costing 52.3
billion Taiwan dlrs, will be completed by April 1988, two
months ahead of the targetted date, he said.
    The spokesman said the company exports its products to
Japan, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, the U.S., The Middle East and
Africa.
 REUTER
