REUTERS
The country saw an 8.5% increase in steel output last month.
Ukraine in August 2019 climbed from the 13th to the 11th place in the rating of the world's steelmakers, according to the World Steel Association (WSA).
Ukrainian steelmakers in August 2019 boosted output by 8.5% year-over-year, to 1.938 million tonnes, the Association said.
China traditionally topped the rating with 87.3 million tonnes of steel (9.3% up on August 2018). It was followed by India with 9.4 million tonnes (1.5% up), Japan with 8.1 million tonnes (7.8% down), the United States with 7.5 million tonnes (0.3% up), South Korea with 5.94 million tonnes (2.6% down), Russia with 5.9 million tonnes (4% down).
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Then goes Germany with 3.3 million tonnes (0.8% up), Turkey with 2.6 million tonnes (12.4% down), Brazil with 2.5 million tonnes (13.4% down), and Iran with 2.2 million tonnes (6.7% up).
In total, 64 countries included in the WSA rating increased steel production by 3.4% in August 2019 from August 2018, to 156 million tonnes.
In January-August 2019, Ukraine boosted steel production by 4.7% compared with the same period in 2018, to 14.655 million tonnes, retaining its 13th place in the global ranking of steel producers.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukrainian steelmakers cut steel output by 1.1% in 2018 against 2017, to 21.1 million tonnes, having slid from the 12th to the 13th place in the WSA rating.
UNIAN memo. Ukraine ranked seventh in the WSA rating 2013 in terms of steel output, having produced 30.4 million tonnes. In 2014, the country slid to the 10th place with a steel output of 27.2 million tonnes. Since 2014, two factors have affected domestic steelmakers' activities: hostilities in Donbas, where more than half of steel production facilities are located, and a decline in world prices of raw materials for metallurgy and finished products. They reduced steelmakers' revenue and toughened competition on global markets, which was most evident in 2015. However, Ukraine managed to keep its 10th position in the industry rating in 2015 and 2016.