Ukraine intends to raise output in 2007

Ukraine's Ministry of Industrial Policy has announced that the country's major steel mills intend to increase their combined crude steel and pig iron outputs by five percent to 42.6 million metric tons and by 7.3 percent to 35.5 million metric tons in 2007 respectively from the 40.7 million metric tons of crude steel and 33 million metric tons of pig iron estimated for 2006. In particular, Mittal Steel Kriviy Rih plans to increase crude steel output by 3.5 percent to 7.8 million metric tons and pig iron output by 3.7 percent to seven million metric tons in 2007 from its estimated 7.54 million metric tons of crude steel and 6.75 million metric tons for 2006. Ilyich Iron and Steel Works of Mariupol (Ilyich) intends to see a 1.8 percent increase in 2007 crude steel production to 7.1 million metric tons from an estimated 6.97 million metric tons in 2006. However, Ilyich plans to reduce pig iron production by 1.2 percent to 5.34 million metric tons in 2007 from its estimated 5.4 million metric tons in 2006. Azovstal plans to increase crude steel production by 5.4 percent to 6.3 million metric tons in 2007 from an estimated six million metric tons in 2006. In addition, the mill plans to raise pig iron production by 5.6 percent to 5.3 million metric tons from its estimated five million metric tons in 2006.