China recorded a double-digit decline in steel exports from December to January and the decline is likely to continue throughout the year, the China Iron and Steel Association said on Tuesday.

Qi Xiangdong, vice secretary-general of China Iron and Steel Association, attributed the downward trend to a slowdown in production and reduction in tax rebates.

Qi predicted that net exports of rolled steel and steel billets would decrease by 10 million tons for the whole year.

According to the General Administration of Customs, China exported 4.38 million tons of steel in January, up 142.2 percent on last year. But the figure decreased by 21 percent from December last year.

In January, the nation imported 1.48 million tons of steel, down 6.2 percent from a year earlier.

Last year China became the world's largest exporter of steel, with an export volume of 43 million tons.