MMK ready to redirect hot-rolled steel to other markets if EC imposes duties
MOSCOW. Aug 8 (Interfax) - Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) is prepared to redirect products that it now ships to European Union countries to other markets if the European Commission imposes duties on imports of hot-rolled steel from Russia.
"We already reviewed the structure of sales when the European Commission announced the beginning of an investigation against imports of hot-rolled steel from Russia. We can redirect these volumes to other markets, including Asia," MMK economics director Andrei Yeremin said in a conference call.
MMK could also increase shipments of products to the domestic market, he said. The launch of a continuous hot-dip galvanizing machine will enable the company to ship an additional 400,000 tonnes of galvanized steel to Russian customers, Yeremin said.
"We'll take 370,000 tonnes of coil from exports and will be able to supply about 400,000 tonnes of galvanized rolled products to the domestic market," Yeremin said.
The EC probe could end with the imposition of duties ranging from 5.3% to 33% on hot-rolled steel from Russia, Ukraine, Iran and Brazil. MMK could be hit with the highest duty among Russian steelmakers - 33%. It was reported earlier that the duty could be 15% for Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) and 5.3% for Severstal .
Speaking about the outlook for domestic demand, Yeremin said MMK expects moderate growth of steel consumption in the construction sector this year and growth of up to 7% in the automotive industry.
