MB 3rd STEEL SCRAP CONF: Russian scrap exports ‘could end by 2017’

Scrap exports from Russia will cease by 2017 if the country’s finished steel market remains strong, Metal Bulletin sister title Steel First has been told.

Scrap exports from Russia will cease by 2017 if the country’s finished steel market remains strong, Metal Bulletin sister title Steel First has been told.

United Metallurgical Co procurement deputy director Alexander Sidorin was speaking on the sidelines of the Metal Bulletin 3rd Steel Scrap Conference in Istanbul on Wednesday September 25.

Domestic demand for scrap in Russia is expected to reach 34 million tpy by 2015, Sidorin said.

This will mark a rise from 2012’s scrap consumption of 20.1 million tonnes, according to statistics from the Bureau of International Recycling. Russia exported 4.3 million tonnes of scrap during the same year.

The Black Sea region has been a net exporter of scrap since 2006 due to increased demand from Turkey, according to Sidorin, but this role could be short-lived.

Russian steel producers are in the process of building a number of mini-mills which will reduce availability by consuming significant volumes of scrap.

Naomi Christie
nchristie@steelfirst.com
Twitter: @NChristie_SF