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Global Steel Trade; Structural Problems and Future Solutions

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Domestic Consumption<br />

In 1998, Ukraine’s apparent<br />

steel consumption was a mere<br />

China<br />

31 percent of its 1992 level,<br />

Other<br />

22.6%<br />

having declined most<br />

39.2%<br />

significantly between 1995 <strong>and</strong><br />

1998. 93 This decline, coupled<br />

with a corresponding drop in<br />

14.1% Turkey<br />

Russian dem<strong>and</strong> for Ukrainian<br />

steel, led Ukraine’s steel<br />

7.1%<br />

industry to look globally for<br />

Taiwan<br />

United States<br />

new markets. 94 To some extent,<br />

3.5%<br />

Russia<br />

Belarus<br />

increased trade is part of the<br />

Syria 5.3%<br />

3.6%<br />

broader process of economic<br />

4.6%<br />

transformation. Exp<strong>and</strong>ing<br />

Source: Metal Bulletin Research <strong>and</strong> Infomine.<br />

export markets is important for<br />

Ukraine’s steel industry.<br />

6-7. 1998 Hot-Rolled <strong>Steel</strong> Exports by Destination, Ukraine<br />

Ukraine’s domestic<br />

consumption of rolled steel fell<br />

from 7.5 million MT in 1995<br />

to just 3 million MT in 1999.<br />

China<br />

The decline in domestic steel<br />

consumption was prompted by<br />

Other<br />

a severe downturn in the<br />

Ukrainian economy, which<br />

39.9%<br />

24.5%<br />

was mirrored throughout the<br />

former Soviet Union. Since<br />

1991, Ukraine has been in a<br />

protracted economic slump,<br />

<strong>and</strong> stagnating reform efforts<br />

20.0% Turkey<br />

have worsened the situation.<br />

Russia<br />

Although considerable<br />

4.0%<br />

progress has been made in<br />

Syria<br />

Algeria<br />

5.9%<br />

recent years, Ukrainian<br />

5.7%<br />

economic reforms lag behind<br />

Source: Metal Bulletin Research <strong>and</strong> Infomine.<br />

other countries transforming<br />

their economies. The private<br />

6-8. 1998 Cold-Rolled <strong>Steel</strong> Exports by Destination, Ukraine<br />

sector remains in an<br />

embryonic form, except for<br />

some notable exceptions. 95 The 1998 Russia crisis exacerbated an already strained economic situation<br />

<strong>and</strong> damaged Ukraine’s traditional export markets. The Russia crisis, Ukraine’s economic over reliance<br />

on Russia, <strong>and</strong> stagnating domestic reforms made the situation worse, leading to a further decline in the<br />

country’s GDP <strong>and</strong> a 35 percent nominal depreciation of the Ukrainian currency, the hryvna. 96,97,98<br />

Russian <strong>Trade</strong><br />

Ukraine’s steel sector had always been able to rely on Russia as an outlet. Historically, Ukrainian steel<br />

mills were a primary raw material source for the Soviet Union’s tanks, machines <strong>and</strong> construction projects.<br />

Chapter 6: New Players in the <strong>Global</strong> Market—Ukraine 157

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