BEIJING, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's major steel mills saw their average daily output of crude steel shrink 3.03 percent year on year to nearly 2.11 million tonnes in late July, industry data showed Friday.

This was the first year-on-year decline in crude steel output recorded by the country so far this year, according to the China Iron and Steel Association.

The output in late July also dropped 3.97 percent from that in mid-July, the association said.

Throughout the month, major steel producers registered a 4.42 percent fall year on year in daily crude steel production.

As part of the green shift by its energy-consuming steel industry, China has vowed to ensure that its crude steel output falls in 2021 from a year earlier.

In 2020, the crude steel output rose by 5.2 percent year on year to exceed 1.05 billion tonnes, according to the association.