According to the Russian Stainless Steel Development Association (Spetsstal), in 2011 Russia's stainless steel products consumption increased by 19 percent compared to 2010 to 371,200 mt. Russia's stainless steel output in the given year rose 10.2 percent year on year to 134,500 metric tons.
In 2011, Russia's stainless steel exports rose 33.7 percent compared to 2010 to 7,800 metric tons, while its stainless imports were up 24.7 percent year on year to 244,500 metric tons.
In the year in question, consumption of all stainless steel products demonstrated robust growth in Russia. Consumption of stainless steel flat products rose 20.9 percent percent, while stainless steel long product consumption was up 21.7 percent, both compared to 2010. On the other hand, in the given year Russian stainles steel slabs/ingots consumption rose by 23.0 percent, welded tube consumption was up by 25.5 percent and seamless tube usage increased by 25.5 percent, all on year-on-year basis.
Meanwhile, Spetsstal stated that the beginning of 2012 has been marked with a price hike for stainless steel in external markets, adding that this may influence the Russian market in the coming weeks, considering that the share of stainless steel imports in the Russian market reached 65.9 percent in 2011.