Russian-Ukrainian crisis will affect the import of finished steel to Pakistan

Tensions between Russia and Ukraine could lead to higher prices for imported finished steel in Pakistan, some sources in the Asian country fear.

The crisis is likely to cause a rise in prices for steel raw materials and finished products, energy carriers and semiconductor chips. “In the short term, higher prices for finished steel products such as cold rolled coil, rebar and tubular steel could lead to higher inventories. However, in the medium term, there is likely to be a destruction of demand due to already higher prices,” said financial services firm Ismail Iqbal Securities.

Apart from domestic steel production of about 4-5 million tons, Pakistan imports about 2-3 million tons to meet its consumption needs.

Ukraine is a major exporter of finished flat and long products to Pakistan and the crisis is expected to limit steel inflows from Ukraine. Pakistan imported about 50,000 tons of steel from Ukraine between January and November 2021, most of which was finished flat steel. The country also imports pipes, tubes and hollow profiles from Ukraine.