According to the preliminary data issued by the Ukrainian Association of Metal Traders, in the first quarter of 2010 Ukrainian large and medium sized steel traders registered an increase of 11.4 percent in their domestic purchases, imports and sales of rolled steel products to 280,463 mt, compared to the same period of 2009.
Accordingly, in Q1 2010
Ukraine's main steel traders reduced their imports of rolled steel products by 25.9 percent year on year to 19,972 mt, but increased their purchases from Ukrainian steel producers by 15.9 percent year on year to 260,491 mt. In March, the companies in question purchased 115,688 mt of rolled products, of which 109,128 mt were purchased from Ukrainian steelmakers, while 6,560 mt were imported.
The main domestic suppliers of steel products to Ukrainian
trading companies were ArcelorMittal Kriviy Rih, Zaporizhstal and Makeevsk MZ, with their deliveries in January-March this year amounting to 52,901 mt, 49,201mt and 49,181 mt respectively.
During the first quarter of 2010, in terms of
trading volume, the leading Ukrainian steel traders were Metinvest-SMC (103,413 mt), Ukrainian Mining and Metallurgical Company (UGMK) (44,456 mt), and MD-Group (32,195 mt).