Russia's steel industry sees steady growth over Jan-Sept

Russia's steel industry's performance has been impressive so far this year, despite a number of challenges the industry has face, according to Viktor Evtukhov, State Secretary - Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of Russia, as the rating agency Rusmet reported.

In the first nine months of 2023, Russia's metallurgical industry showed steady growth. The volume of steel production increased by 3.5%. It is predicted that by the end of the year, steelmaking will exceed the pre-COVID figures, reaching more than 74 million tonnes of liquid steel, which is 2.5 million tonnes more than in 2022. Importantly, production capacity utilisation remains high at over 90%, mainly due to growing domestic demand.

The rolled metal segment also showed growth. Compared to the previous year, demand for rolled metal products from Russian consumers increased by over 11% to 3 million tonnes.

Import substitution issues remain on the agenda. The share of imported steel products in the Russian market has fallen to 6%. The main source of imports is Kazakhstan, a partner country in the EAEU. The only niche where imports still dominate is stainless flat products.

However, Russia is actively tackling this problem. It is planning to launch a new plant capable of supplying the domestic market with stainless steel rolled products. In addition, capacities for heat treatment of rolled metal products and production of roller-bearing steels has significantly increased, helping to strengthen the industry.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.