In 2017 Metinvest compensated for the decrease in demand for concentrate on the domestic market with exports.
The first half-year of 2017 was difficult as to iron ore raw materials sales.
“We stopped supplying iron ore raw materials to 4 Ukrainian companies – Donetskstal, Yenakievo Iron and Steel Works, Alchevsk Iron and Steel Works and Dneprovsky Iron and Steel Combine. The former three are in the ATO zone, while the latter stopped operating because of economical reasons. At the same time we have considerably increased exports to China – over 2 million tons per month”, Metinvest sales director Dmitry Nikolayenko said.
According to him, in H2 2017 demand for quality concentrate with high iron content, mostly used to produce pellets, increased.
“We took advantage of the situation and decided to develop the nearby premium markets. Thus we were able to fulfill our strategy to increase sales in Europe. We have even signed 3-year contracts on iron ore raw materials delivery with some European customers. This allowed us to compensate for the drop of demand on the domestic market”, Nikolayenko added. (Ukrainian metal)