Murat Cebecioğlu, chairman of IREPAS, the global association for longs exporters and producers, has opened the SteelOrbis Spring 2023 Conference & 88th IREPAS Meeting taking place in Barcelona during May 7-9. The conference attracted over 500 participants, including 157 representatives from 58 steel producers from 55 countries and 81 delegates from 43 raw material suppliers. In his welcome speech the IREPAS chairman stated that the long steel market has been suffering from declining imports and exports and also from a lack of steel demand due to holidays.
Saying that the reduced production levels in 2022 have been carried into 2023 due to the low levels of steel consumption, Mr. Cebecioğlu added that there is currently a lack of certainty regarding the future of the market.
Noting that the long steel market is becoming more and more regional, the IREPAS chairman stated that the level of competition in the market is strong and that the market is in a bearish mood at present. He ended his welcome speech with saying that the current situation in the global market is fluctuating, despite some positive developments such as falling energy prices.