Ukrainian steelmakers have called on domestic ferroalloys producers to reduce their prices for the local Ukrainian market, threatening otherwise to increase their ferroalloy imports and to appeal to the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine to initiate an investigation into artificial increases of prices in the local market.
The issue was discussed by the Ukrainian Association of Ferrous Metallurgy Enterprises (UkrMet) and the Association of Ukrainian Ferroalloy Producers (UkrFA) at a meeting held at the Ministry of Industrial Policy of Ukraine on March 3.
According to Derzhzovnishinform, the Ukrainian governmental center which monitors the external markets, ferroalloys prices in Ukraine considerably exceed world prices, particularly the ferrosilicomanganese price in Ukraine which exceeds the world price level by $500-600/mt. In this context, during the first two months of 2009, Ukraine increased its ferroalloy imports to 12,000 mt, including 7,000 mt in February, compared to 18,000 mt imported in the whole of 2008.
Meanwhile, UkrFA's executive director Sergey Kudryavtsev stated that the Ukrainian ferroalloy producers intend to reduce their prices by about 13 percent. The final price offers are to be announced on March 11, 2009.
Moreover, both UkrFA and UkrMet intend to appeal to the Ukrainian government for timely VAT repayments, for the reexamination of electric power tariffs for mining and metallurgical companies, and for the imposition of restrictions on imports of ferroalloy and steel products.
In 2008, Ukraine registered a 21.4 percent decrease year on year in its ferroalloys production.