ULIA predicts a drop in limestone consumption in 2020

Limestone producers expect a drop in demand for their products among steelmakers

The Ukrainian Lime Industry Association (ULIA) predicts a drop in limestone consumption from 14.9 million tons in 2019 to 14 million tons in 2020, according to ULIA analytics.

“The steel industry as a major consumer shows a sharp slowdown in the recent months of 2019. In fact, several steelmaking companies (for example, Dniprovskyi Iron and Steel Works and Dnipro Metallurgical Plant) were completely or partially suspended,” the ULIA emphasized.

The share of the steel industry in the structure of limestone consumption is expected to decline from 66% in 2019 to 65% in 2020. The volume of limestone consumption in the mining & metals sector will decrease from 9.8 million tons to 9.1 million tons.

As reported earlier, Ukrmetallurgprom forecasts a 37% decrease in steel production in December 2019 against December of the previous year, down to 1.2 million tons. In 2019, the steel industry is expected to demonstrate the worst production results in the history of independent Ukraine.

A slowdown is also expected in industrial segments related to the mining & metals sector. Specifically, the Ukrainian Association of Founders lowered its forecast for production of cast products in 2019 from 800 to 600 thousand tons.