Posted on 30 May 2024
In March 2024, the European Union (EU) significantly increased its purchases of iron and steel from Russia, driven by rising demand in Belgium, Mysteel Global learned from Russia's state media Sputnik and European statistics.
Russia has become the EU's second largest supplier of iron and steel in March 2024, with the export value rising 1.7 times on month to EUR 328 million ($355.6 million), the highest since May 2023.
The surge was mainly driven by Belgium whose iron and steel imports from Russia were boosted by 3.5 times to reach EUR 130.5 million in March, a new record since June 2022.
The same month, Italy's imports of iron and steel from Russia increased by 25% to 85 EUR million, while those of Denmark also jumped by 30% to EUR 35.1 million. Hungary resumed such imports worth EUR 13.7 million in March after a four-month hiatus.
Despite the increases in March, the accumulative value and volume of iron and steel the EU imported from Russia in the first quarter of 2024 were only about half of what they had been in 2021 Q1 due to the EU's sanctions against Russia, Mysteel Global noted.
Before the trade sanctions on several steel products adopted in mid-March 2022, the value of the EU's iron and steel imports from Russia in 2022 Q1 had surged by 63% from 2021 Q1 due to rising prices.
Russia's share in the EU's extra-regional imports of iron and steel was lower by 7 percentage points in 2024 Q1 compared to 2022 Q1. India overtook Russia as the leading supplier, accounting for 11% of the EU's iron and steel imports, followed by Turkey, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.
Aluminium shipments from Russia to the EU in March also rose by 29% on month to EUR 91.4 million, the highest since October 2023. Of these, Germany's imports increased fivefold to EUR 22.4 million, while Spain and Poland also significantly lifted their imports.
Source:Mysteel Global
