China to use raw materials worth US$1.1t in 2004
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-05-12 09:09

China will see its domestic consumption of raw materials reach 9 trillion yuan (US$1.1 trillion) in 2004 and remarkable price hikes have been reported for materials like product oil, rubber, steel and pig iron, according a top logistics agency.

In the first quarter of this year, sales of raw materials in China surpassed 2 trillion yuan (US$241 billion), up 22.5 percent from the year-before period, according to the China Logistics Information Center.

The agency forecast that the sales will increase by 20 percent in 2004 compared with the previous year, reaching 9 trillion yuan.

Agency experts attributed the fast growth in sales of raw materials mainly to China's rapid economic growth in the quarter. In the first two months of 2004, China's industrial sales increased by 28.9 percent, and heavy industry sales increased by 33.9 percent.

The nation's fixed assets investment registered a growth rate of 32.8 percent during the same period, according to the agency.

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