Poland's metallurgy faces high electricity prices

The steel industry in Poland has theoretically good conditions for progress - the market is growing and consumption is growing too. But, if the situation on the world market allows breathing freely, then the problems are provoked by the EU rules and the indifference of the Polish government. Poland pays twice as much for electricity as Germany

The opportunity to gain a strong international position is an investment in new, often niche products. Construction and assembly production is the main steel market. In Europe, this type of steel product accounts for more than a third of steel. In Poland, this percentage is closer to half.

The growing share of imports is not only a problem for Polish producers. Lately, import protection has slowed down in the European Union market, which has been more active than in previous years.

Polish steel mills have long noticed that, despite a similar price for electricity generated by power plants, industrial buyers in Poland pay twice as much as in Germany.

Data for the last ten years provided by Eurofer show that import growth has already exceeded pre-crisis levels since 2008. Interestingly, in 2016 and 2017, the volume of imports of steel products to the European Union was identical - it amounted to 26.11 million tons. However, the directions from which the EU imports steel have changed. China is no longer the leading importer of EU steel.