In the first four months of 2009, Russia registered a 32.2 percent decrease in its crude steel production year on year to 17.2 million metric tons.
During the period in question, Russia produced 13 million metric tons of pig iron - down 30.8 percent, 14 million metric tons of semi-finished products - down 18 percent, 8.6 million metric tons of long products - down 29.5 percent, and 6.2 million metric tons of flat rolled products - down 28.2 percent, all compared to January-April 2008. The above flat rolled production figure includes 1.7 million metric tons of cold rolled - down 35.4 percent, and 4.5 million metric tons of hot rolled - down 24.7 percent, both compared to the same period last year.