According to the data issued by the Ukrainian Foundation for Effective Governance, the devaluation of the Ukrainian monetary unit (hryvnia) has substantially increased the competitiveness of Ukrainian steel producers vis-à-vis their Chinese counterparts.
The devaluation of the hryvnia from UAH 5/$1 to UAH 8/$1 has allowed the Ukraine's vertically integrated companies to decrease the production cost of slabs by 38 percent from $450/mt to $290/mt, while domestic non-integrated companies have been able to reduce slab production costs from $450/mt to $425/mt.
Moreover, experts at the Ukrainian Foundation for Effective Governance forecast a drop in 2009 in Ukrainian steel exports by 20-40 percent year on year, depending on importing countries' level of protectionism. Meanwhile, steel demand in the Ukrainian domestic market is forecast to decrease by 20-30 percent year on year.