In an interview with the Russian news agency TASS, Pavel Shilyaev, CEO of Russian steelmaker MMK, stated that the company does not plan to restart hot rolled production at its Turkish subsidiary MMK Metalurji until 2021.
The MMK CEO cited the decrease in demand and the current negative economic conditions in Turkey as the reasons for postponing the relaunch of hot rolled steel production. He added that they do not foresee the Turkish economy recovering to its previous position before two or three years.
In 2012, two years after the commissioning of the plant, the production of hot rolled steel at MMK Metalurji was stopped due to unfavorable economic factors, in particular, due to the rising cost of raw materials and falling demand.
Commenting on Turkey’s decision not to impose any safeguard duties on steel imports including steel imports from Russia, Mr. Shilyaev said that it is good for both countries as it means there will be no pressure on prices. He stated that this will help steel buyers recover more quickly from the current economic slowdown.