Russian exports down in Q1

According to the data released by the Federal Customs Service of Russian Federation, the country's export of ferrous metals decreased year on year from 12.2 million tons to 10.28 million tons in the first quarter of 2006. The export of finished carbon steel products decreased 16.1 percent, year on year to 2.24 million tons during the same period. The export of semi finished carbon steel products decreased 3 percent year on year to 3.397 million tons in the first three months of 2006. The export of ferroalloys decreased 16 percent to 148,900 tons in the given period, whereas the export of pig iron decreased from 1.48 million tons to 1.456 million tons. The exports of iron ore and concentrate increased slightly from 4.72 million tons in the first quarter of 2005 to 4.73 million tons in the first quarter of 2006. The main reason for reduction in export volumes is the decrease in export deliveries to all foreign consumers except for the CIS states.