Daily News Egypt reported that steel rolling mills in Egypt are currently suffering from low availability of iron billets production locally and Chamber of Metallurgical Industries at the Federation of Egyptian Industries member and Chairperson of Al Gioshy Steel Mr Tarek El-Gioushy called for urgent intervention by all government agencies and ministries. Mr El-Gioushy said that the government involvement would help save rolling mills that have been suffering since the issuance of the decision to impose custom duties on iron billet imports. Mr El-Gioushy said “Factories producing billet ore locally give priority to the rolling line needs of their factories and the supply is only made to rolling mills factories when the demand for rebar shrinks locally. Factories producing billet locally do not satisfy the needs of rolling mills manufacturers in any way. There is severe arbitrariness by factories that produce billet crude locally towards rolling mills factories because both parties are competing in the final product, which is rebar.” He demanded that the government reconsider that decision, particularly since the circumstances the decision was based on have since changed. The most important of these changes is the significant increase in global billet prices, from USD 270 per tonne at the time the decision was made, to the current price of USD 550 per tonne. In October 2019, Egypt’s Ministry of Trade and Industry imposed protective duties on Egypt’s imports of billet crude, which will continue until April 2022. This has been put in place at a decreasing rate, starting from 16% on every tonne of billet imported from abroad.
Daily News Egypt reported that steel rolling mills in Egypt are currently suffering from low availability of iron billets production locally and Chamber of Metallurgical Industries at the Federation of Egyptian Industries member and Chairperson of Al Gioshy Steel Mr Tarek El-Gioushy called for urgent intervention by all government agencies and ministries. Mr El-Gioushy said that the government involvement would help save rolling mills that have been suffering since the issuance of the decision to impose custom duties on iron billet imports. Mr El-Gioushy said “Factories producing billet ore locally give priority to the rolling line needs of their factories and the supply is only made to rolling mills factories when the demand for rebar shrinks locally. Factories producing billet locally do not satisfy the needs of rolling mills manufacturers in any way. There is severe arbitrariness by factories that produce billet crude locally towards rolling mills factories because both parties are competing in the final product, which is rebar.” He demanded that the government reconsider that decision, particularly since the circumstances the decision was based on have since changed. The most important of these changes is the significant increase in global billet prices, from USD 270 per tonne at the time the decision was made, to the current price of USD 550 per tonne. In October 2019, Egypt’s Ministry of Trade and Industry imposed protective duties on Egypt’s imports of billet crude, which will continue until April 2022. This has been put in place at a decreasing rate, starting from 16% on every tonne of billet imported from abroad.
