Byelorussian Iron and Steel Works (BMZ) has announced that in the January-October period this year it entered 17 new export markets, commencing deliveries to Iraq, Iran, Israel, Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, Philippines, Sudan, Afghanistan, Morocco and some other countries in Africa and the Middle East. Currently, BMZ delivers its products to almost 60 countries on five continents.
The price of one metric ton of steel sold in BMZ's new markets is about $20-30 higher than in its traditional markets such as Russia, other CIS countries and the EU, where BMZ faced lower demand for its products due to the crisis. Currently, the share of BMZ's exports to new regions amounts to about 23-25 percent of its total deliveries.
Meanwhile, up to the end of the current year, BMZ plans to open a trading house in the United Arab Emirates, which will allow it to expand its presence in the region and in neighboring countries. In addition, the company is currently conducting negotiations to supply seamless pipes for the oil industry to the Venezuelan market.
Due to the diversification of its deliveries, BMZ started to increase its sales and to reduce its inventories of finished steel products. In particular, in October this year, the plant exported steel products worth $78.5 million, i.e., up $4 million compared to September. In June this year, BMZ's profitability of sold products amounted to 9.4 percent, in July the rate was 9.9 percent, in August it stood at 6.7 percent, while in September it amounted to 10.4 percent.
BMZ is specialized in the production of profiled sections, profiled light-section bars, rebar, wire rod, seamless pipes, steel cord and wire. In 2008, BMZ produced over 2.48 million mt of crude steel and 2.1 million mt of rolled products.