According to the data released by the Russian Federation's Ministry of Industry and Energy, during the first nine months of 2007, Russian domestic finished steel consumption increased by 15 percent year on year to 27.9 million metric tons, with 23.9 million metric tons supplied by the Russian steel producers and the balance by imports.
With increased domestic demand, imports of finished steel products also rose. Thus, during the given period, imports of steel products to the Russian domestic market increased by 55 percent from a year ago. Consequently, the share of imported steel products in the Russian domestic market increased to 14.3 percent from 10.5 percent registered last year.
During the January-September 2007 period, there was a noticeable increase in export deliveries to the Russian market from Southeast Asian suppliers in the flats segment, and from CIS exporters in the longs segment.
Russian domestic consumption of pipes increased during the period in question by 23.5 percent year on year to 6.9 million metric tons. The share of imports in the Russian pipe market increased to 18.7 percent from 17.3 percent recorded for the corresponding period of the last year. Export deliveries from non-CIS sources increased considerably, by about 60 percent, during the first nine months of 2007. The largest increase was seen from Chinese pipe exporters, who raised their supplies to Russia by 2.5-fold year on year (especially in the large diameter pipe segment) during the first nine months of 2007.