Ukrainian enterprises may lose their share in the domestic market

In January-February 2018, Ukrainian metallurgists produced 2,977 thousand tons of rolled metal, of which 2,643 thousand tons, or 88.7%, were exported. Domestic consumers got 334 thousand tons (11.3%) of the total volume of manufactured products. For comparison, for the same period in 2017, out of 3188 thousand tons produced, 2536 thousand tons (79.5%) were exported, and the remaining 652 thousand tons (20.5%) were sold on the domestic market.

However, for January-February 2018. 193 thousand tons of rolled metal were imported to Ukraine, which is 142% compared to the same period in 2017. Thus, if in the first two months of 2017, out of 788 thousand tons used by the Ukrainian consumer, the share of imported rolled metal accounted for 17.3%, then, for the same period in 2018, in 527 thousand tons consumed by the domestic market, the share of imports reached 31%. By the way, the trend towards an increase in the volume of imports has been observed for a long time - for example, if in 2015 about 770 thousand tons of rolled metal were imported to Ukraine during the year, in 2016 the volume increased to 1,060 thousand tons, then in 2017 this figure has already amounted to 1302 thousand tons.

While the overall demand for rolled metal products in the domestic market decreased, the share of imports increased significantly. It is clear that a part of the imported assortment is accounted for by products that are not produced by domestic metallurgists. But how to explain the growth of imports of those types of rolled metal products that are traditional for Ukrainian producers? For example, if we compare the volumes of imports of such an assortment in January-February 2017 and 2018, the following picture emerges: imports of reinforcing bars increased by 96%, wire rods - by 186%, long products - by 134%, coated flat products (in first of all, galvanized) - by 24%.

Such a trend can significantly reduce the presence of Ukrainian producers in their own market, even to the point of losing it. And Ukrainian metallurgists understand this, taking appropriate measures - for example, at the end of December 2017. The Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade introduced an anti-dumping duty of 15.21% for a period of 5 years on rebar and wire rod originating from the Russian Federation. To date, consultations are being held on the possibility of starting an anti-dumping investigation regarding the import of galvanized coil, primarily from China, since the share of Chinese galvanized steel has reached about 50% of the total volume of this assortment entering Ukraine from outside, and poses a threat to the Ukrainian market due to low quality products, the zinc coating of which is 2-4 times lower than the required level with a clearly pronounced price dumping, and the world market as a whole, since often Chinese goods are labeled with Ukrainian brands