In the first seven months this year, Russia’s stainless steel imports totaled 258,300 mt, down by 7.7 percent compared to the same period last year, according to Russia-based SpetsStal Association.
In the given period, in terms of volume, Russia’s imports of stainless cold rolled steel, hot rolled steel, stainless seamless pipes and stainless wires decreased by 6.1 percent, 13.4 percent, 23.0 percent and 36.0 percent respectively. On the other hand, imports of welded pipes and billets went up by 32.0 percent and 60.1 percent year on year.
In the January-July period this year, China, which accounted for 73.9 percent of the total supply, was the main supplier of stainless products to Russia. China was followed by India with 14.2 percent, Indonesia with 8.3 percent, Vietnam with 1.5 percent and Turkey with 0.7 percent.