BEIJING, Jan. 19 -- China's annual crude steel output dropped for the first time since 1981 as the industry struggled with persistent overcapacity, official data showed on Tuesday.

Crude steel output fell 2.3 percent year on year to 803.83 million tonnes in 2015, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Industrial overcapacity in sectors like steel and cement has become a major drag on the broader economy, which grew 6.9 percent year on year in 2015, the slowest annual expansion in a quarter of a century.

To gradually solve the problem, the government has banned new projects in steel, cement, electrolytic aluminum, flat glass and shipbuilding before 2017.

In a recent report, Fitch Ratings predicted China's steel production capacity is likely to peak in 2016 as eliminated capacity gradually outpaces new capacity.

In 2016 and 2017, new capacity of around 16 million tonnes will be added annually. However, this will be offset by shutdowns of plants with total capacity of 75 million to 85 million tonnes over the next five years, resulting in a peak in capacity in 2016, Fitch reported.