Non-ferrous metal firms post net fall

THE aggregate profit of China's non-ferrous metal producers fell 45 percent last year to 80 billion yuan (US$11.73 billions), the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association said yesterday.

Kang Yi, director of the association, said the slump mainly reflected declining demand amid the global downturn, which had worsened since the fourth quarter. Kang said this year was likely to be the toughest test of survival for the industry, and he urged companies to be innovative and upgrade their technology.