Posted on 30 Jul 2025
Kazakhstan’s authorities have imposed a six-month ban on the export of billet, a move that is expected to support the domestic steel industry, Kallanish notes.
The order came into effect on Saturday.
According to the document, the country has banned the export of the following products for six months: iron and non-alloy steel, in ingots or other primary forms (except iron of heading 7203) and semi-finished products made of iron or non-alloy steel.
“The measure is being introduced as part of stimulating domestic metallurgical enterprises to expand the steel industry with the production of finished products of the middle and upper processing stages with high added value,” the ministry states. “This will help strengthen the economy and reduce dependence on imported finished steel products.”
Kazakhstan decreased crude steel production in June to 358,789 tonnes, down by 12.2 year-on-year (see Kallanish passim). January-June steel production was thus 2.14 million tonnes, up 2.3% on-year.
In 2024, Kazakhstan’s steel production was 4.17mt, higher by 9.5% on-year, driven by flat steel output growth of 18.2% to 2.9mt.
Domestic producer Qarmet steelworks’ business plan for 2025 provides for the production of 3.7mt of steel. The firm said previously it planned to increase tube production at its AktauPipe Plant to 100,000t, alongside the addition of railway tracks into the plant. It has an annual design capacity of 60,000t of pipe products.
Qarmet and China’s Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes Co agreed last year to build a ductile iron pipe plant in Kazakhstan (see Kallanish passim). The pipe mill’s design capacity is to be 200,000 t/year, for a total investment of $161 million.
Qarmet signed a $1 billion agreement with China Metallurgical Group Corp to cooperate in the mining and metallurgical industries.
Source:Kallanish
