According to the Institute for Problems of Natural Monopolies of the Russian Federation, domestic demand in Russia for ferrous metals in March 2022 increased by an impressive 39.2% (+24.2% in January-March 2022), external demand decreased by 10.8 % (-7.4%) against the background of the introduction by Europe of restrictive measures on the supply of iron and steel (about 40% of Russian steel exports to Europe fall under sanctions).
Demand for non-ferrous metals in March 2022 from the domestic market also increased significantly (+30.4%, +18.8%), deliveries to the external market via the railway network also increased (+40.4%, + 17.9%) amid expectations of new restrictive measures.
According to the Institute, the growth of industrial production in the Russian Federation in March 2022 continued (+ 5.7%), despite the sanctions. However, the demand for industrial products began to decline (-2.2%) - to a greater extent, due to high-tech industries, the most sensitive to disruption of production and logistics chains.
“The current crisis has required the vast majority of industries to radically reconfigure their value chains. One of the bottlenecks in this process is the transport and logistics complex, which in itself faces significant problems,” Evgeny Rudakov, Deputy Head of the Fuel and Energy Department of IPEM, commented on the current situation in the Russian industry.
Earlier, the World Steel Association Worldsteel said that according to forecasts, demand for steel in the Russian Federation in 2022 will decrease by 20%, to 35.1 million tons against 43.9 million tons in 2021, while in 2023 the volumes steel consumption in Russia will remain at the level of 2022.
