The once-booming building materials sector faces great difficulties this year, with its first-ever anticipated drop in exports, officials say.
State planners yesterday said that, after boasting an average 23 per cent a year growth in exports of building materials for nearly a decade, suppliers were certain to lose market share to Asian rivals.
'Financial turmoil in Southeast Asia has an immense impact on building materials exports of China,' an official said.
The devaluation of currencies in South Korea, Thailand and other countries had priced mainland exporters out of the market, he said.
'Exports will face severe competition,' the State Administration for Building Materials Industry forecast.
The mainland claimed to export a record US$2.5 billion in building materials last year, including 10 million tonnes of cement.
