The Ukrainian government has improved its 2009 steel output forecast to 29.9 million mt, Ukrainian deputy minister of industrial policy Sergey Grishchenko has stated, adding that in the current year Ukrainian steel producers will not be able to reach their pre-crisis output level.
"According to the September production results, we reached the output level of September of last year, which was already the beginning of the crisis. In the satisfactory pre-crisis year of 2007, we produced 43 million mt of steel, while in 2008, considering the drop which occurred mainly in the fourth quarter, we produced 37 million mt. For the current year we forecast an output of 29.5 million mt of steel. However, taking into account the orders for November, and the expectations that steelmakers will confirm that they have orders for up to the middle of December, we have improved our forecast a bit, and so this year we can produce about 29.9 million mt of steel," Mr. Grishchenko said.
In addition, the Ukrainian government has expressed its hope for the increase of local steelmakers' sales in the domestic market. "We must expect that those infrastructural projects which are built into the state budget for 2010 and also the projects for "Euro 2012" will be implemented. Thus, without doubt, the implementation of these projects will allow the improvement of the situation in the domestic market," the deputy minister stated.
Talking about the possibility of the steel industry reaching its pre-crisis level, Mr. Grishchenko said that it will happen not earlier than 2012. "According to experts, 2009 and 2010 must be the beginning of the steel industry's rehabilitation. Meanwhile, they all assume that this process will not be rapid," Mr. Grishchenko stated.
According to the deputy minister, in 2010 steel output in Ukraine will increase by five to six percent compared to the current year.