According to the data released by the Russian Federation's Federal Customs Service, in the first half of this year Russia exported about 15.36 million metric tons of ferrous metals (excluding pig iron, ferroalloys and scrap) - up 11.6 percent, 8.5 million metric tons of semi-finished steel products - up 22.5 percent, 4.46 million metric tons of flat rolled products - down one percent, 2.216 million metric tons of pig iron - up 6.1 percent, and 478,900 metric tons of ferroalloys - up 44.5 percent, all compared to H1 2009.
Meanwhile, during the period in question, Russia registered a 22.3 percent increase year on year in its iron ore concentrate exports to 10.145 million metric tons and 73.87 percent growth year on year in its coke and semi-coke exports to 1.524 million metric tons.
On the other hand, in the first six months of this year, Russia increased its ferrous metal imports (excluding pig iron, ferroalloys and scrap) by 75 percent to 2.272 million metric tons, and raised its steel pipe imports by 80.5 percent to 485,700 metric tons, both compared to the same period last year.