Chinese government is maintaining its export duties on the main ferro-alloys for 2020.

China will keep a 20pc export tariff on ferro-alloys including ferro-manganese, silicon-manganese, ferro-silicon and pig iron, the country’s ministry of finance said. The duty on ferro-chrome will be unchanged at 15pc.

Although many domestic producers have been calling on the government to reduce or cancel the duties, China has opted to keep the duties as it aims to curb production of energy-sensitive and polluting products.

The ministry of finance had verbally notified ferro-alloy producers last month that the export duty would not be reduced. This followed a request to the government in September by China’s chamber of commerce of metals minerals and chemicals importers and exporters and the main ferro-silicon suppliers.