The Rosspetsmash Association appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a request to give instructions to solve the problem of rising prices for rolled metal products for domestic consumers. As indicated in a message on the site of the association, machine builders talk about a rise in prices for consumed metallurgy products by 35% in December, and even by 50% for certain types.
According to Rosspetsmash, mechanical engineering enterprises will be forced to sharply raise prices for their products in response. This will ultimately affect the cost of equipment for agriculture, construction, mining and transport.
The association proposes to the President to consider the introduction of a floating export duty on rolled metal "in order to ensure metal prices 20% lower than on world exchanges."
The automobile industry has also faced the problem of rising prices for rolled metal: the industry is also considering the possibility of contacting officials. They note that this will lead not only to an increase in the cost of metal for the manufacturer, but also to an increase in the cost of components.
The rise in prices for rolled metal really creates such risks, believes Dmitry Babansky from SBS Consulting. In his opinion, the export duty on rolled products can help to increase the competitiveness of products with higher added value.
The National Association of Housing Developers was the first to complain about the cost of steel - in this case, reinforcement - in the domestic market to Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin.
Earlier it was reported that the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) of the Russian Federation proposed to introduce export duties for six months on all Russian metal products - from raw materials to upper processing, according to a December letter from the service to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
The reason for the new wave of protectionism was the complaints of housing developers about the rise in prices for steel rebar, which has risen in price by one and a half times in a month. In order to stabilize prices, the FAS proposed to consider the possibility of introducing a system of export duties not only on raw materials, but also on final products.
