Kazakhstan reduced steel production by 8.5% y/y in 2022

In December, Kazakhstan's steelmakers reduced steel production by 25.7% y/y

In 2022, steel enterprises of Kazakhstan reduced the production of unrefined steel by 8.5% compared to 2021 – to 4.13 million tons. Statistical committee of the Kazakhstan Ministry of Economy’s data reports about it.

In December 2022, steelmakers of Kazakhstan produced 285.39 thousand tons, which is 25.7% less compared to the same month of 2021. In November, Kazakhstan produced 315.32 thousand tons of steel, so in December, compared to the previous month, the figure decreased by 9.5%.

The production of flat rolled products for 2022 decreased by 15.1% compared to 2021 – to 2.5 million tons. In December, smelting amounted to 226.59 thousand tons, which is 35.4% less than in December 2021.

However, the production of ferroalloys for January-December increased by 5.1%, compared to the same period of the previous year – up to 2.13 million tons. In December, the production of ferroalloys amounted to 178.6 thousand tons (-1.7% y/y r.).

According to the Prime Minister of the country Alikhan Smailov, the government of Kazakhstan will support the development of iron and steel industry and is ready to implement constructive business proposals.

“In the coming years, the government will implement measures to expand the country’s mineral and raw material base and introduce a single online platform for mining companies, as well as increase processing capacity,” the message says.

According to him, in order to increase the investment attractiveness of iron and steel complex, the government decided to exempt projects that start operating after December 31, 2022, from paying the mineral extraction tax for a period of 5 years.

Kazakhstan in 2023 plans to start construction of three steel enterprises in the Saran industrial zone of the Karaganda region. Investments in the construction of a galvanized steel plant, a pipe plant and a hot-dip galvanizing plant are expected to amount to $478 million.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2021, Kazakhstan increased steel production by 12.5% ​​compared to 2020 – up to 4.4 million tons. According to data from the WorldSteel association, the country took 37th place in the global ranking of steel producers.