We had the opportunity to speak with Kim Marti Subirana from Celsa Group, the president of IREPAS, during the SteelOrbis Spring 2014 Conference & 70th IREPAS Meeting held on March 30-April 1 in Barcelona.
Mr. Marti, how do you view the demand situation for rebar and wire rod in northern and southern Europe?
There are significant differences seen between the north and south of Europe in terms of long steel demand. In northern Europe, especially in Germany, demand from residential construction is good and so we expect that demand in northern Europe will increase by two to three percent. Also, Poland is indicating good demand with its infrastructural investments and demand thanks to funds totaling €1.6 billion coming from the EU. So, as regards northern Europe, it can be said that demand is performing well.
In the southern part of Europe, we can say that for some regions the situation can be described as optimistic, with long steel demand in Spain and Portugal halting its declining trend. However, the only country in which long steel demand is still experiencing a decrease is Italy and long steel demand in the country may decline by a further 10 percent this year, though some stabilization may finally be seen and there are probably good prospects for growth in 2015. Greece, surprisingly, is foreseen to witness some improvement in long steel demand on the back of certain infrastructure investments.
How do you see the general demand situation in Turkey and GCC countries?
There was a question mark over Turkey until the elections. It seems that after the elections the country will regain stability and that all construction and infrastructure projects will resume and this is good news and so the Turkish domestic market will maintain its stability as regards demand.
For the GCC, this region seems to be the best place in the world for demand volumes. With all countries in the region assigning a good portion of their budgets for their infrastructure projects and with their populations looking for new cities, new buildings and infrastructure that connects these cities, we think that, with their economic growth, significant rebar consumption is expected in these countries.
What do IREPAS participants think about ongoing protective measures?
As exporters and global steel market players, we believe that free trade is crucial. Sometimes large tonnage movements or low prices may have devastating effects on local markets and it is true that some governments are attempted to defend their domestic markets. Sometimes it is even understandable that some measures are implemented but as global market players we must say that this approach is not in line with global free trade criteria.
We have observed an increased number of participants at this latest IREPAS event. In your view, what is the reason for such high numbers of participants?
There has been great interest. Also, long steel consumption is expected to improve and there are some topics that needed to be discussed such as antidumping measures, the situation in certain regions due to political developments, etc. IREPAS generates interest with its program and event design. Location is also important with the event held this time in Barcelona, which is such a beautiful city. In the future, we are sure that IREPAS will continue to expand. It is good to come together every six months. Many things happen within this timeframe and it is good to sit down with all our colleagues globally and view the overall picture of the steel market.