NLMK may redirect EU transformer steel exports to India

The Russian steel producer NLMK may redirect part of the export volumes of transformer steel from the European Union to India due to the duties imposed by the European Union on the supply of these Russian products, as stated by NLMK President Oleg Bagrin.

He added: “There is also potential to increase sales in the markets of Turkey, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. There is potential for growth, and we also see prospects in the markets of Southeast Asia, Turkey and the Middle East, but some will remain in the EU market. "

NLMK Group, the only Russian producer of transformer steel, currently provides about 25 percent of the total Indian electrical steel market, exporting more than 70,000 tons of these products to the region annually. NLMK exports 60,000 tonnes of electrical steel to the European Union per year.

Earlier, the European Union imposed anti-dumping duties on transformer steel imports for six months, starting May 14, 2015. This measure is directed against metallurgists from China, for whom the duty is 28.7 percent; Japan - 34.2 and 35.9 percent; Republic of Korea - 22.8 percent; The United States - 22 percent and Russia, in particular NLMK - 21.6 percent.

NLMK Group produces electrical anisotropic steel at two Russian enterprises - NLMK OJSC in Lipetsk and VIZ-Steel LLC in Yekaterinburg. VIZ-Stal has a share of about 11 percent in the world transformer production, with over 80 percent of products being exported. Together, both enterprises produce 258,000 tons of transformer steel annually, of which only 30,000 tons are used in Russia.

NLMK's electrical steel is used in the production of power transformers, since it has low specific magnetic losses. Magnetic cores are made from this steel. NLMK steel products for the electrical industry include: distribution, measuring and power transformers, shunt reactors, generators, electronic, high-voltage and low-voltage equipment.