Speaking at the SteelOrbis 2022 Fall Conference & 87th IREPAS Meeting held in Monaco on October 9-11, Ramy Saleh, chief business development officer of the Egyptian steelmaker El Marakby Steel, Egypt’s projects market is expected to remain strong, with many plans in the pipeline in multiple sectors, mainly transportation, supporting demand in the country. Mr. Saleh pointed out that Egypt’s apparent steel consumption in 2021 totaled 10.2 million mt, while domestic long steel sales amounted to 5.4 million mt during the first eight months this year and 50,000 mt of long steel was imported in the same period. Egypt’s scrap imports in the first eight months this year decreased by seven percent to 2.7 million mt, while its billet imports rose to 800,000 mt in the same period, with the effect of removal of the safeguard duty, and they are expected to reach one million mt by the end of this year. Meanwhile, in the first eight months rebar consumption in Egypt increased by 36 percent to 5.35 million mt and rebar production amounted to 5.78 million mt in the same period, up 22 percent year on year. The country’s rebar consumption is expected to see a slightly higher level in 2022 than in 2021, at around 8 million mt, supported by the growth in the domestic market.
On the export side, in 2021 Egyptian rebar and wire rod exports increased by 48 percent to 450,000 mt, while HRC exports increased by 76 percent to 1.09 million mt. During the January-August period of the current year, the country’s rebar and wire rod exports amounted to 258,000 mt, while HRC exports came to 476,000 mt during the same period. The El Marakby official pointed out that Egypt’s steel exports are expected to remain firm in 2022, recording similar levels to 2021, despite drastic changes in the global market.
Mr. Saleh commented on the global steel industry, indicating that global crude steel production fell by five percent year on year to 1.25 billion mt in the first eight months this year, while the Middle East was the only region recording an increase in steel production with a rise of 6.9 percent. He went on to say that energy prices are affecting profits, causing further shutdowns and that demand is still below expected levels, especially in the EU. Saleh underlined that Chinese exports have remained an influential force, even though a decrease has been observed after the peak in Chinese steel exports in May this year with a total of 7.2 million mt.