According to the Ukrainian association of metal producers Metallurgprom, domestic steel production is expected to increase to 3.16 million mt in May this year. In the same month, Ukrainian metallurgists plan to produce 2.64 million mt of cast iron and 2.87 million mt of rolled metal, while Ukraine is expected to import 30,000 mt of pellets, 60,000 mt of sintering ore and about 680,000 mt of coking coal.
In addition, Metallurgprom has predicted a total steel output of 3.07 million mt in Ukraine in April, as well as cast iron output of 2.5 million mt and rolled iron output of 2.8 million mt in the same month. Furthermore, Ukraine is expected to import 680,000 mt of coking coal in April.
For reference, steel production in Ukraine increased by 16.1 percent in March compared to February, up to 3,089 million mt. Output of cast iron rose by 13.8 percent to 2.512 million mt, while production of rolled metal increased by 15.4 percent to 2.785 million mt.
In 2010 Ukrainian metallurgists increased steel melting by almost 10 percent to 32.7 million mt, their cast iron production rose by 6.5 percent to 27.4 million mt, while production of rolled iron increased by 16 percent to 30.7 million mt.