China's steel output climbed by 23.7 percent to 77.7 million tons in the first three months of this year, an official said on Saturday.

Jia Yinsong, deputy director of the economic operation bureau under the State Development and Reform Commission, said in the first three months, Chinese companies also produced 72.57 million tons of iron, up 27.3 percent, and 82.53 million tons of rolled steel, up 22.4 percent.

The total steel production capacity might reach 322 million tons this year, nearly 50 million or 18.4 percent more than last year, said Jia.

Although the steel sector still takes the lead in the whole secondary industry, steel and iron production is facing increasingly tough conditions as the prices of major raw materials are rising by a big margin and the supply of coal, electricity and fuel remain tight amid a lack of transportation capacity, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 11, 2005)