Ukrainian steel industry could cut roll output 18% in 2009
KYIV. Nov 11 (Interfax) - Ukraine's steel industry could cut roll and pig iron output 18% to 26.064 million tonnes and 25.251 million tonnes, respectively, in 2009.
Crude steel production could fall 22% to 29.224 million tonnes, Vasyl Kharakhulakh, director of the Metallurgprom association, said at a meeting of steel industry bosses in Dnipropetrovsk.
Kharakhulakh said pig iron production fell 25% year-on-year in January-October to 21.031 million tonnes, crude steel - 27.6% to 24.34 million tonnes and roll - 23.5% to 22.806 million tonnes.
Coking plants imported 5.9 million tonnes of coking coal in the ten months, down 35% year-on-year. Ukraine imported 117,000 tonnes of coke, down from 1.06 million tonnes in the same period of last year.
Kharakhulakh said earlier that Ukraine would need 17.2 million tonnes of locally mined coking coal in coal concentrate equivalent and 5.5 million tonnes of imported coal in order to produce 25 million tonnes of pig iron this year.