Speaking at the SteelOrbis 2014 Spring Conference & 70th IREPAS Meeting in Barcelona, Margarita Zvezda from Russian steel producer Evraz, the chairwoman of the
billet suppliers committee, stated that Ukraine and Russia- the largest steel
billet suppliers - witnessed stable
billet supplies in 2013, with Evraz permanently stopping a plate mill and thus having additional 400,000 mt of steel for exports in the form of square
billet, while Ural Steel shutting its open hearth furnace.
Ms Zvezda remarked that
Turkey is both an exporter and importer of steel
billet. However, she said, until last year (2013)
Turkey had been a net exporter, though it has become a net importer of steel
billet, firstly because Turkish steel
billet producers are mainly EAF-based and higher scrap prices harmed these producers' cost effectiveness, causing them to lose market share in export markets to
CIS mills, which are mostly BOF-based and have cheaper iron ore supplies. Secondly, Turkish steel producers have preferred to import cheaper steel billets from the
CIS instead of producing liquid steel to cast steel billets. The IREPAS
billet suppliers committee does not foresee any change in this situation in the mid-term, as some
CIS billet suppliers are expected to continue sacrificing their margins in order to provide discounts to undercut Turkish steel
billet prices.
The IREPAS
billet suppliers committee chairwoman also evaluated the situation regarding Iran, saying that Iran had been a major player in the Middle Eastern steel
billet market until international sanctions were imposed, adding that, if political issues are resolved, it will again become an important steel
billet importer. However, she added, this situation is not expected to last long, as Iran is close to becoming self-sufficient in terms of steel
billet supplies after the commissioning of ongoing steel
billet capacity projects.
As regards Egypt, Ms. Zvezda stated that Egypt has not experienced a genuine recovery in long steel consumption with significant overcapacity being in place, while a big portion of the existing long steel demand is coming from illegal construction sites, a risky situation if the government decides to undertake measures, she said, going on to state that, with the commissioning of the steel
billet plant project of Egyptian Steel, the country's demand for steel billets is foreseen to decline.