Mumbai: China's export of steel billets soared 54.4 per cent in November 2006 despite a 10 per cent tariff imposed on exports of the item in the same month.

China exported 1,480,000 tonnes of steel billets during the month, up 54.4 per cent from the previous month, customs figures showed.

Exports of steel billets in the January-November period were up 30.7 per cent at 8,540,000 tonnes in volume terms and up 28.4 per cent at $3,207.223 million in value terms, Xinhua news agency reported.

Chinese exporters have, meanwhile, raised billet export prices by $5 to $10 per tonne from January 1 this year, expecting the government to raise the tariff by another five percentage points.

China has been discouraging production of steel billets in recent years through a series of policies and administrative measures as it consumes enormous amount of energy and resources and generates serious pollution.

China proposes to maintain the tariff rates on billet exports till the time international demand shrinks. It may, however, tariff hikes in check to avoid the lucrative international market being cornered by foreign billet manufacturers.