Russia has increased the export of ferrosilicon

According to the latest statistics, Russian exports of ferrosilicon increased significantly in 2014. Exports totaled 426,162 tons, up 7.2 percent from 397,738 tons the year before. Export volumes during December last year were slightly higher than in the previous month. Ferrosilicon exports in December amounted to 37,573 tons.

Ferrosilicon and tabular alumina are produced in arc furnaces and are used as alloying and deoxidizing additives when smelting heat-resistant, corrosion-resistant, spring-spring and electrical steels.

The main export destination for ferrosilicon from Russia during 2014 was the Netherlands. Exports to that country amounted to 116,835 tons, a sharp rise of 16.20 percent from 100,557 tons during 2013. Other top importers during the year were Japan (102,890 tonnes), South Korea (68,526 tonnes) and Turkey (37,829 tonnes). Exports to the United States remained stable despite an investigation by the US administration to impose an anti-dumping duty on Russian ferrosilicon exports. The year was marked by a sharp increase in exports to the Netherlands and Brazil.

In December 2014, exports of ferrosilicon were marginally higher compared to exports of 37,192 tons during November 2014. The Netherlands was the largest importer of Russian ferrosilicon. Exports to the country totaled 11,101 tons, rising sharply in December 2014 by 28 percent from 8,675 tons in the previous month. The key importers of Russian ferrosilicon during the month were Japan (9945 tons), South Korea (4428 tons) and India (2919 tons).