Kazakhstan extends ban on exports of semi-finished steel products

Kazakhstan has extended its ban on the export of semi-finished steel products for six months. This is stated in the report of the Ministry of Trade and Integration of the country following the meeting of the specialized interdepartmental commission.

As noted, a positive result of this ban, which was introduced earlier, was the reorientation of existing semi-finished products (square billets) production facilities to deeper processing, which allowed to increase rebar exports by almost 30 thousand tons.

In addition, Kazakhstan continued its anti-dumping measures against galvanized steel produced in China and Ukraine, as well as hot-rolled seamless pipes from China.

In late 2019, the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) imposed anti-dumping duties of 23.9% on galvanized steel from Ukraine and 12.69% to 17% on these products from China for 5 years. Last November, the anti-dumping measure was extended until September 1, 2025.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2024, Kazakhstan increased steel production by 9.5% compared to 2023, to 4.17 million tons. Last year, flat products production increased by 18.2% compared to 2023 to 2.9 million tons. In 2024, Qarmet Iron and Steel Works of Kazakhstan exceeded its production targets for iron by 15%, steel – by 15%, coke – by 18%, sinter – by 12%, and long products – by 17%. The company plans to produce 3.7 million tons of steel in 2025.