The commencement of production at Ukrainian EAF-based steelmaker Electrostal, a second-tier billet supplier in the country, is said to have been postponed indefinitely, as it is highly dependent on the situation in the domestic scrap market.
Accordingly, in the middle of November last year, the company was forced to stop its production due to high scrap prices and, consequently, uncompetitive costs for square billet compared to the other CIS-based integrated producers. The facility is likely to remain idled until market conditions improve in line with the company’s interests.
It is noteworthy that the company’s facility was idled in 2019 for some months due to the same challenges.