Pig iron: Russian exports rise by 8% in the first 11 months of 2021

Russian pig iron exports rose 8% year-on-year in the first 11 months of 2021 (Jan-Nov 21). Cumulative exports stood at 3.56 million tons (mnt) in the period under review compared to 3.3 mnt seen in the corresponding period last year.

The United States maintained its position as the top importer of Russian pig iron in January-November 2021. The country imported 1.62 mnt, 57.2% higher than 1.03 mnt in the previous period.

The second largest importer was Italy with 0.3 million tons, registering a sharp decline of 48.2% from 0.56 million tons previously. China was the third largest importer from Russia with 0.37 million tons. However, volumes were down 35% from 0.6 million tons.

The other importers are Belarus, Germany, Turkey and Poland. On a monthly basis, Russia exported 0.34 million tons of pig iron in November, a 31% increase from 0.26 tons in October 2021.

Turkey was the largest importer with 0.18 million tons, followed by the United States with 0.10 million tons and China with 0.05 million tons.

Chinese interest in purchasing pig iron remained active in January 2022, given the increase in iron ore and scrap prices. This is likely to boost Russian pig iron export sentiment.