ArcelorMittal Considers Increasing Ukrainian Steel Exports Amid Political Crisis

ArcelorMittal, which has production facilities in Ukraine, sells a certain part of its products to other markets. Domestic demand growth in the region was slower than expected due to the difficult political situation.

In addition, demand for steel in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which includes both Russia and Ukraine, could grow more slowly than 2.5 percent, according to previous forecasts by ArcelorMittal analysts, who adjusted for the crisis, lowering the forecast to 1.5 percent. ...

Lakshmi Mittal, CEO of ArcelorMittal, at a presentation for investors, said: "Domestic markets in Ukraine are going down. While production and related operations are going well, the company plans to sell more steel to other countries."

Ukrainian markets are now agitated by the political crisis. The escalation of tensions caused the confrontation of the Russian-speaking population in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, right up to the intervention of President Vladimir Putin, which makes the situation in the domestic market even more unpredictable.

ArcelorMittal's Ukrainian facilities produced 6.4 million tonnes of steel last year. The Luxembourg-based company bought its Ukrainian assets from the country's government in 2005 for about $ 4.8 billion.

Lakshmi Mittal said the North American and European markets will consume an additional 20 million tonnes of steel per year from 2013 to 2018, helping the company increase the utilization of its steelmaking capacity. At the same time, the CFO said that he cannot rule out plant closures, which will not happen with an increase in demand for steel.