World steel production has soared, thanks to a spectacular turnaround in Asia, particularly in China, the Mexican Iron and Steel Industry Chamber said on Friday.

World steel production will have increased by 5 percent by the end of this year, from last year's 1.1 billion tons, and China's effort will boost the output to 1.2 billion tons in 2006, the chamber said in a statement.

In the first 10 months of 2005, China produced 287 million tons of steel. By the end of 2005, the total production will have grown by 26 percent, or 50 million tons more, as compared with last year.

In 2004, 26 percent of the world's steel was produced in China. It is estimated that the figure will climb up to 33 percent this year.

Meanwhile, production has risen by a comparatively modest 4 percent in the rest of Asia.

Source: Xinhua