Expert opinion: Russian metallurgy has every opportunity to improve its competitiveness

It is known that metallurgy is one of the main branches of the Russian export sector. However, over the past 15 years, there have been significant changes in the global metallurgy market, with steel production increasing rapidly in India, Brazil and Turkey. China is the main steel producer in the world as it produces far more steel than any other country.

In the period from 1990 to 2014, steel production in China increased 12 times and amounted to 823 million tons. In addition to China, steel production is growing rapidly in South Korea, where steel output in 2014 was equal to the production rate in Russia: 71.5 million tonnes.

As a result of fierce competition in the global ferrous metals market, steel production in Eastern Europe declined by almost 20 percent between 1990 and 2014. In Russia, the decline in steel exports has been partially replaced by domestic demand.

The most effective response of Russia to the growing international competition in the steel market can be continuous improvement of technologies and radical modernization of production, including the development of a so-called carbon additive.

The use of carbon additives in the steel industry allows manufacturers to avoid buying expensive coal coke. However, the production of a carbonaceous additive, in turn, increases the technical risks for coke plants. Companies, as a rule, are reluctant to develop such production.


In addition, Russian specialists have developed a technology for the production of so-called semi-coke, which also helps to significantly save on the use of the coke itself.

The introduction of these technologies can help reduce the cost of Russian ferrous metallurgy, which will significantly increase its competitiveness in the world market, as noted by an expert from the University of Economics. Plekhanov in Moscow.