According to the data released by the Russian Federation's Federal Customs Service, in the first eleven months of 2009 Russia exported 25.255 million metric tons of ferrous metals (excluding pig iron, ferroalloys and scrap) - up 1.7 percent, 3.969 million metric tons of pig iron - down 18 percent, 12.77 million metric tons of semi-finished steel products - down 11.6 percent, 18.037 million metric tons of iron ore and concentrate - down 12.5 percent, and 1.664 million metric tons of coke and semi-coke - down 41.7 percent, all compared to the corresponding period of 2008. Meanwhile, in the January-November period of last year, Russia registered a 28.6 percent increase year on year in its flat rolled product exports to 8.285 million metric tons and a 5.2 percent rise year on year in its ferroalloy exports to 719,300 metric tons.
In the period in question, Russia decreased its ferrous metal imports (excluding pig iron, ferroalloys and scrap) by 35.6 percent to 2.889 million mt, and reduced its steel pipe imports by 42 percent to 522,000 mt, both compared to January-November 2008.