Posted on 06 Oct 2022
The growth of steel production capacities in Asia and the Middle East will make it difficult for Russian steelmakers to reorient their exports from Europe to the east, according to the latest version of Russia’s 2030 steel strategy.
These capacities reduce the ability of Russian exporters to redirect export flows in the future from traditional US and EU markets to eastern markets, reports Russian newspaper RBC, which says it has a copy of the document.
Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade did not reply to Kallanish request for comments before deadline on Wednesday.
The new draft clarifies that the growth of capacities has a direct impact on the capabilities of Russian exporters, it adds. The forecast for 2023 notes that an excess of global steel production capacity will be a major deterrent for Russian steel industry development.
Global steelmaking capacity in 2021 increased by 1.3% on-year to 2.49 billion tonnes, show worldsteel data. The bulk of the increase (80%) came from Asia and the Middle East – 16.4 million tonnes and 9.9mt, respectively.
The authors of the new steel strategy propose to create conditions for the expansion of Russian steel exports to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the CIS countries. Turkey, South America, Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia are also alternatives to western markets, according to the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Sources meanwhile believe the EU will ban the import of most remaining steel products from Russia, and the export of certain semiconductors to the country in its new, eight round of sanctions.
The Russian steel strategy is aiming for infrastructure stimulation, securing raw materials for the development of the steel industry, replacing foreign components completely with locally-made products and boosting exports to Asia (see Kallanish passim).
Source:Kallanish
