Interfax-Ukraine cited Ms Tymoshenko prime minister of Ukraine as saying that Ukraine produced around 16% more steel in July than in June.
Ms Tymoshenko said “We saw prices for Ukrainian semis and rolled products grow 15% to 30% in June to July. She said this was largely thanks to the government’s anti crisis program which has resulted in lower coking coal, natural gas and rail charges and faster VAT refunds.
Ms Tymoshenko said the steel industry brings in half of Ukraine’s FOREX earnings and a large portion of the country’s budget. She said the steel industry’s performance indicates that the situation in industry as a whole could improve.
The Industrial Policy Ministry has said Ukrainian steel roll production plummeted 37%YoY to 16.277 million tonnes in January to July 2009. However in July, daily production averaged at 86,300 tonnes, or significantly higher than the daily average of 76,800 tonnes for the seven months.
Steel industry output in Ukraine started to plummet in August last year due to a drop in demand, particularly in October to December. Some steel mills stopped some of their capacity. However some signs of improvement were seen in May.
Steel output fell 13% last year to 37.101 million tonnes. (Interfax-Ukraine)