According to Egyptian media reports, Egyptian steel producers and refineries discussed the impact of protective measures on billet imports amid disagreements between rolling mills and integrated steel producers over production costs, raw material availability and competitiveness. Industry representatives are also expected to meet with government officials to discuss the issue.
The meeting in question is scheduled for October 19. It will be attended by ministers responsible for industry, investment and foreign trade, as well as representatives of the steel and machine-building industries.
Egypt imposes three-year protective import duties заготовок
In accordance with resolution No. 121 of 2026, Egypt imposed protective duties on imports of billets for a period of three years, starting at 13.12 percent and not less than $70 per ton in the first year,as SteelOrbis previously reported.
Subsequently, duties will decrease to 12% at a minimum rate of $64 per ton for the second year and to 11% at a minimum rate of $59 per ton for the third year. These measures were taken after the introduction in September of temporary protective duties of 16.2% on imports of blanks for a period of 200 days. 2025.
Rental companies warn of increased production costs and limited availability заготовки
Representatives of the rolling companies stated that protective duties increase their production costs and affect their competitiveness. They stressed that the assessment of the availability of blanks in the domestic market should be based on the actual production volumes available for sale, rather than on installed capacities, since integrated producers consume part of their blanks domestically. They also spoke about eight new licenses for the production of blanks with a total capacity of about 2.8 million mt, stating that accelerating the implementation of these projects could help increase supplies to the domestic market. Meanwhile, they proposed introducing production quotas for individual plants and reviewing tax mechanisms to create a more balanced competitive environment between large and small producers.
Representatives of the Egyptian engineering industry also expressed concern about the high prices of locally produced metal products. They stated that the price difference between domestic and imported products, estimated at up to 40 percent, weakens the competitiveness of Egyptian manufacturers of engineering products. They added that domestic production meets approximately 55-65% of demand, making imports necessary to meet the remaining needs.
In contrast, representatives of integrated and semi-integrated steel producers have defended the procurement of protective duties, arguing that these measures are necessary to protect domestic investment from imports at unfair prices. According to industry representatives, imports of billets from Egypt increased from about 128,000 tons in 2021 to 1.7 million tons in 2024, and its value is estimated at $1 billion. Subsequently, in January-August 2026, the import of It reached approximately 430,000 tons, which indicates that foreign supplies continued to enter the market despite protective measures.
Industry data indicate that the annual rebar production in Egypt is approximately 13.6 million tons, while the estimated billet requirements for rebar production are 8.8 million tons. Of the total installed capacity, about 8.7 million tons are accounted for by integrated enterprises, 2.4 million tons by semi-integrated enterprises and 2.6 million tons by enterprises with induction furnaces. The annual production volume of rebar is estimated at about 8.4 million tons. However, the distributors claim that these figures do not accurately reflect the volume of blanks available to independent producers, since a significant part of domestic production is consumed domestically at integrated and semi-integrated plants.
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