China imported less than 1 million tonnes of steel products in December 2008, the lowest monthly figure in seven years as economic downturn sapped demands, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on Saturday.

The imports have posted drastic slump since mid-2008 as the global financial crisis began to hurt the real economy. Only 929,000 tonnes were imported in December, sharply down from the 1.44 million tonnes in July and 30.4 percent less from a year ago, customs data showed.

A total of 15.43 million tonnes of steel products were imported last year, down 8.6 percent year on year. The imports value grew 14 percent to US$23.43 billion.