According to the official customs data, in 2019 Russia exported 27.212 million mt of various steel products, down 11.2 percent year on year. The biggest decline was registered in the flats segment, with a decline of 16.8 percent year on year to 6.946 million mt. Along with the protectionist measures imposed globally, one of the key reasons for the decrease in exports were the modernization works at Severstal and NLMK assets specifically, which influenced the overall allocation for flats. In addition, last year the local flat steel market in Russia, according to sources, was more active and therefore consumed some additional volumes destined for foreign markets, SteelOrbis understands. In addition, Russia’s semi-finished steel shipments decreased by 7.9 percent last year to 14.744 million mt, the official data show.
In the raw materials segment, in 2019 Russia’s pig iron exports decreased by 26.4 percent year on year to 4.252 million mt, again partly due to maintenance works at key supplying mills and also due to the unfavorable price situation during some periods of the year. In the meantime, Russia’s ferroalloys exports in the given year inched up by 0.3 percent year on year to 813,600 mt, SteelOrbis has learned.