CHINA'S TIN INDUSTRY: AN OVERVIEW OF TIN SUPPLY, CONSUMPTION AND STRUCTURAL CHANGES

摘要

Since late 2000, the Chinese tin industry has experienced its worst nightmare and is still suffering from the fierce impact of the poor tin price due to the tough domestic and overseas competition, resulting from the global economic shrinkage as well as the over-supply. Ever since 1993, Chinese tin production has seen a remarkable increase of almost 13.3 percent annually. In the year 2000, the total annual output of refined tin reached its summit of 112,000 metric tons, accounting for almost 42.2 percent of the world total. Though last year it started to show a considerable reversal by a significant drop of 17.0 percent, with a yield of less than 92,000 metric tons, holding yet 34.9 percent of the world share, China still ranks the top as the biggest tin supplier in the world. (See Figure 1)