Growth in domestic demand for steel products should be focus of attention - Putin

MOSCOW. Aug 1 (Interfax) - Ensuring domestic demand for steel products should be in the focus of attention of both companies in the sector and the government and regional heads, Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting on the development of the metallurgical industry on Monday.

"We're not just talking about stable supplies of these goods to our market, but also about an increase in these supplies, about growth in demand, primarily by increasing the volume of construction of housing, industrial and commercial facilities, by implementing large-scale programs to develop infrastructure: railroads, bridges and overpasses, and other capital facilities," Putin said.

Putin recalled that at a meeting in April, he gave instructions to approve a strategy for the development of the domestic steel industry through 2030, in which he asked that an emphasis be placed, in particular, on the active growth of domestic steel consumption, ensuring affordable prices for these products for business, large regional and federal projects with a powerful effect on target sectors of the economy.

The president also noted that the issue of taxation of the industry was raised in the spring, and the government was instructed to jointly with business to clarify the export directions of Russian steel products in order to redirect the commodity flows to dynamically growing markets.

"With our colleagues from the administration and the government we've again in recent days and this morning once again raised all these issues and discussed them," - said the president.