Emirates Steel expects a slowdown in construction activity in the Middle East this year
Economic growth in the Gulf countries has slowed due to reduced oil production, lower oil prices and weaker global growth.
In 2018, Emirates Steel produced 3.1 million tonnes of steel, which is in line with 2017 volumes. About 20 percent of production is exported, with most of it going to the Gulf countries.
The CEO of the company, Said al-Remeiti, told reporters that in 2019, “a slowdown in the regional construction sector, an increase in prices for iron ore raw materials, a drop in sales prices, market volatility, market protectionism are expected.”
About 3 percent of the company's exports go to the United States, which has imposed a strict 25 percent tariff on steel imports. In ongoing negotiations, the UAE is seeking exemptions from tariffs on steel and aluminum.
Despite the tariff problem, Emirates Steel's exports are expected to rise to 5 percent of total exports this year, and the company is also looking for new markets in the South, according to the company's vice president of sales, Mohamed Salem al-Afari. America.
Emirates Steel, owned by the state-owned industrial investor in the Emirate Senaat in Abu Dhabi, earned AED 7.5 billion ($ 2.04 billion) in 2018, up 15 percent from a year earlier.