22 September 2003 06:50
MINISTRY UPGRADES FERROUS METALS OUTPUT FORECAST
Russia's industry and science ministry has upgraded its ferrous metals production growth forecast for 2002 from
5.5% to 7% in view of an improvement in trends on the world and domestic metals market.
Deineko said output in the sector looked like growing more than 9%
year-on-year in the first nine months of 2003 as it is. In the first
Talks with on improving trading conditions with the countries that import Russian steel have also been encouraging,
Andrei Deineko, the ministry's official in charge of industrial and innovation policy, told Interfax.
Production of steel pipes grew 19% to 4 million tonnes on increased
demand from the oil and gas, construction and machine-building
eight months, Russian ferrous output grew 9.4%, with increases for 6.4% to 34.3 million tonnes for finished roll and
10% for sheet.
industries.
Many pipe mills have upgraded their capacity and increased production of oil industry pipes like large-diameter
tubes, casing pipes and pumping and compressor pipes in addition to water and gas piping, general purpose pipes and
stainless steel pipes.
In view of the need to reform the metals industry, the industry ministry is close to unveiling criteria for assessing
companies and plans to give each company a year to assess its own capabilities using the new method.
Afterwards we will look at the possibility of raising capital, some of it from international financial institutions,
to restructure companies, and provide methodological help with the closure of inefficient capacity, Deineko said.
The State Statistics Committee said Russia produced 34.25 million tonnes of ferrous metal roll in January-August
2003, up 6.4% year-on- year.
Sheet production grew 10% to 15.1 million tonnes, of which 5.07 million tonnes of cold-rolled sheet and 10.03 million
tonnes of hot- rolled sheet. Sections and bars output grew 3.2% to 18.74 million tonnes.
Roll production increased 4.2% at Severstal; 3.4% at Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Combine; 4.8% at Novolipetsk
Metallurgical Combine; 11.7% at the Nizhny Tagil Metal Works; 6.1% at the Oskol Electrometallurgical Plant; 29.5% at
Nosta; 11.5% at A.K. Serov Metallurgical Plant; 14.9% at Chusovoi Metallurgical Plant and 11.7% at West Siberian
Metallurgical Combine (ZSMK). It fell 3.3% at Mechel.
Russia produced 32.36 million tonnes of pig iron, including blast- furnace ferroalloys, up 4.3% year-on- year. Crude
steel production grew 5.3% to 41.69 million tonnes.
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