LISCO ups sales to domestic market as exports decline strongly

According to the Arab Iron and Steel Union, during the first half of 2009 North Africa's largest iron and steel producer Libyan Iron and Steel Company (LISCO) registered a slight decrease of 3.2 percent year on year in its finished steel product output to 548,230 mt, mainly due to a 20 percent decline in flats production. In the first half of the current year, the company increased its sales to the domestic market, as its exports declined strongly due to the recession faced by the world steel markets, in particular by the European markets which are the main importers of flats from Libya.
 
In January-June 2009, LISCO's total sales to its domestic market increased by 33.42 percent year on year, amounting to 632,305 mt. Of this number, sales of rebars accounted for 81.33 percent, sales of hot rolled flats accounted for 9.4 percent, while sales of sections, cold rolled, coated and galvanized steel products accounted for 9.27 percent.
 
Meanwhile, LISCO is continuing the implementation of its development plan for some of its mills, directed towards boosting its overall annual production capacity of liquid steel up to 4.168 million mt from the current 1.324 million mt per year.