According to the data released by the Russian Federation's Federal Customs Service, in the first eight months of 2009 Russia exported 18.303 million metric tons of ferrous metals (excluding pig iron, ferroalloys and scrap) - down 6.15 percent, 2.515 million metric tons of pig iron - down 25.8 percent, 465,700 metric tons of ferroalloys - down 9.75 percent, 9.219 million metric tons of semi-finished steel products - down 18.3 percent, 12.313 million metric tons of iron ore and concentrate - down 19 percent, and 1.13 million metric tons of coke and semi-coke - down 50.2 percent, all compared to the corresponding period of 2008. On the other hand, in January-August, Russia registered a 15.3 percent increase year on year in its flat rolled product exports to 5.983 million metric tons.
In the period in question, Russia decreased its ferrous metal imports (excluding pig iron, ferroalloys and scrap) by 44 percent to 1.9 million mt, and reduced its steel pipe imports by 44.7 percent to 375,500 mt, both compared to January-August 2008.