According to the Ukrainian association of metal producers Metallurgprom, domestic steel production is expected to increase to 3.16 million tons in May. In the same month Ukrainian metallurgists plan to produce 2.64 million tons of cast iron and 2.87 million tons of rolled metal, while Ukraine is expected to import 30,000 tons of pellets, 60,000 tons of sintering ore and about 680,000 tons of coking coal.
Metallurgprom has predicted a total steel output of 3.07 million tons in Ukraine in April as well as cast iron output of 2.5 million tons and rolled iron output of 2.8 million tons in the same month. Furthermore, Ukraine is expected to import 680,000 tons of coking coal in April.
For reference, steel production in Ukraine increased by 16.1% in March compared to February to 3,089 million tons. Output of cast iron rose by 13.8% to 2.512 million tons, while production of rolled metal increased by 15.4% to 2.785 million tons.
In 2010 Ukrainian metallurgists increased steel melting by almost 10% to 32.7 million tons, their cast iron production rose by 6.5% to 27.4 million tons, while production of rolled iron increased by 16% to 30.7 million tons. (SteelOrbis)