In January-March this year, Ukrtruboprom enterprises increased pipe production by 12.6% year-on-year to 142.5 thousand tons.
According to the company’s data on Tuesday, in January 2024, it produced 52.5 thousand tons of pipe products (174.4% compared to January 2023), in February – 41.4 thousand tons (105.1% compared to February 2023), in March – 48.6 thousand tons (85.1% compared to March 2023).
In the first quarter, almost all pipe companies showed positive dynamics. In particular, Interpipe Nico Tube and Trubostal increased production of seamless pipes by 11.5% and 75%, respectively, Centravis increased production of stainless pipes by 13.8%, and Interpipe NMTZ and Ukrtruboizol increased production of electric-welded pipes by 69.2% and 714.3%, respectively. Only Oscar’s pipe production decreased by 43.2%.
Ukrtruboprom CEO Georgy Polsky stated that the positive results of the first quarter of 2024 were primarily due to the low comparison base of the previous year, when the industry operated under strict electricity consumption limits. This led to an increase in production “on paper”.
“In reality, the rate of pipe production is slowing down, and in March, a 15% decline was recorded. The main reason is a significant increase in imports of steel pipes from China to Ukraine at dumping prices, which are supported by Chinese government subsidies,” Mr. Polsky emphasized.
He also added that the US and the EU have recently been actively working to develop and implement protectionist measures that will limit the flow of Chinese goods into their markets. The Ukrainian steel pipe market also needs protection from dumped imports from China, the Ukrtruboprom CEO summarized.
As reported, Ukrtruboprom’s enterprises increased production by 10.2% to 495.6 thousand tons in 2023, but could have done more if the volume of Chinese products in the domestic market had declined.
In particular, Interpipe Niko Tube increased its production of seamless pipes by 13.3%, while Trubostal reduced its output by 42.5%. Ukrtruboizol increased production of electric-welded pipes by 43.8%, while Interpipe NMTZ decreased production by 53.8%. “Centravis increased production of stainless pipes by 11.7%. Oscar’s pipe production decreased by 30.5%.
At the same time, it was specified that in January 2023, the company produced 30.1 thousand tons of pipe products (44.9% compared to January 2022), in February – 39.4 thousand tons (80.4% compared to February 2022), in March – 57.1 thousand tons (1631.4% compared to March 2022), in March – 57.1 thousand tons (1631.4% compared to March 2022). tons (1631.4% compared to March 2022), in April – 42.3 thousand tons (228.6% compared to April 2022), in May – 49.6 thousand tons (96.5% compared to May 2022), in June – 35 thousand tons (67.8% compared to June 2022). In July 2023, the company produced 43.9 thousand tons of pipes (112% compared to July 2022), in August – 41.8 thousand tons (114.5%), in September – 36.9 thousand tons (89.9%), in October – 39.7 thousand tons (98%), in November – 37.2 thousand tons (110.1%) and in December – 42.4 thousand tons (239.5%).
