REUTERS
Ukrainian steelmakers boosted steel production by 5.5% in 2016 against 2015, to 24.2 million tonnes, having kept the tenth place in the international steelmakers rating drawn up by the World Steel Association (WSA).
China remained in the lead in the 2016 ranking with 808.4 million tonnes of produced steel (1.2% up from 2015). It was followed by Japan (104.8 million tonnes, 0.3% down), India (95.6 million tonnes, 7.4% up), the United States (78.6 million tonnes, 0.3% down), Russia (70.8 million tonnes, 0.1% down), South Korea (68.6 million tonnes, 1.6% down), Germany (42.1 million tonnes, 1.4% down), Turkey (33.2 million tonnes, 5.2% up), and Brazil (30.2 million tonnes, 9.2% down), the association said.
Some 66 countries on the WSA's ranking increased their combined steel production by 0.8% in 2016 from 2015, to 1.629 billion tonnes.
Read alsoCountries exporting steel pipes to Ukraine use 87% of 2016 quotaAs reported, Ukraine in December 2016 ranked tenth with 2 million tonnes of produced steel. At the same time, steel production in Ukraine grew by 4.5% in December 2016 against December 2015.
China also retained its top position in December 2016 with 67.2 million tonnes of steel (3.2% up from December 2015). It was followed by Japan (8.7 million tonnes, 1.5% up), India (8.4 million tonnes, 15% up), the United States (6.6 million tonnes, 11% up), Russia (6.2 million tonnes, 8% up), South Korea (5.9 million tonnes, 0.2% down), Germany (3.2 million tonnes, 8.2% up), Turkey (2, 8 million tonnes, 6.2% up), and Brazil (2.2 million tonnes, 12.7% down).
In general, the 66 countries ranked by the WSA boosted steel production by 5.5% in December 2016 from December 2015, to 134.1 million tonnes.
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 world markets, which was most evident in 2015. However, Ukraine managed to keep its tenth position in the industry rating in 2015.