The General Administration of Customs said on Monday that China's crude oil export volume in the first quarter slumped greatly. The official figures show that in March, the number stood at 220-thousand tons, down 83 percent year-on-year. While in February, there was no export at all.

Experts say the tumbled global oil prices and the government's new duties on oil exports are major factors to beat down the volume. At the end of 2006, the government issued a new round of oil policies. It lowered down the import tariffs from 6 percent to 2 percent, while began to impose a 5-percent-duty on exported crude oil.

The China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association says currently 40 percent of China's crude oil are exported. With the economic development, the country is running shortage of crude oil.

Source:佚名