Steelmaker ArcelorMittal resumes Russia shipments
Jul 05, 2022
Moscow [Russia], July 5 : ArcelorMittal, Europe's largest steelmaker resumed their supplies to Russia through Kazakhstan in June.
"Mainly hot-rolled mill products [are supplied to Russia]," a source of Russia's metals industry said as quoted by TASS.
The source further said that the pipe manufacturers and large metal traders purchase those products.
Previously, ArcelorMittal used to deliver the steel from Kazakhstan to Russia as it was profitable considering the short transportation leg, the source noted. Active supplies resumed on June 10 after being suspended in April, he added.
Earlier in April, ArcelorMittal suspended its supplies to Russia. Even before that, in March, ArcelorMittal completely banned Russian raw materials, according to Stanislav Zinchenko, CEO of GMK Center, Ukrainian Steel media.
Zinchenko said that the steelmaker has excluded Russian raw materials from its supply chain following Russia's aggression against Ukraine. He further said that earlier, the company bought 20 per cent of the coal for its European plants in Russia and bought iron ore from Metalloinvest, owned by billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who is now under sanctions.
"Now we are independent. In the third quarter, we need to buy a little more outside Russia. But it's not a big problem," said Geert van Polvoorde, CEO of ArcelorMittal Europe.
ArcelorMittal's portfolio of iron ore and coal deposits has helped the company replace supplies from Russia relatively easily but now it has resumed its supplies to Russia.
These favourable terms hurt the interests of ArcelorMittal's Russian competitors, which turned to the domestic market after Western sanctions curtailed exports, according to The Moscow Times.
The author said that the unprecedented sanctions hit the Russian companies after Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine. In March, steel production in Russia decreased only by 1.8 per cent year-over-year. And it is nothing compared to last year's records.
The author praised the Company for its sanction on Russia and said that it has been proved to be more effective than country-level sanctions. It turned out that values and reputation for businesses are sometimes more important than for politicians. So, some global iron and steel companies announced a voluntary ban on Russian products.
