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The crisis in the Russian metallurgical industry is comparable to what happened in the 1990s. This was stated in an interview with RBC by Alexander Shevelev, CEO of Severstal, one of the country’s largest steel companies, which accounts for 14% of all steel production in Russia.

According to Shevelev, metallurgists have been hit by export restrictions related to sanctions, and the crisis has been exacerbated by an unprecedentedly long period of high key interest rates set by the Central Bank.

"A shortage of financing could, in the long term, turn industrial enterprises into a heap of rusty metal," Shevelev warned. He said steelmakers are facing a sharp decline in demand, and the greatest risk posed by the current crisis is a complete halt to development.

According to Rosstat, last year, Russian metallurgy reduced output by 1.5% despite demand from defense plants, and this year, the decline has accelerated into a collapse: in June, it amounted to 10.2% year-on-year.

Steel exports from Russia have plunged by one-third due to sanctions: last year, steelmakers managed to ship 20 million tons abroad compared to 31 million tons in pre-full-scale-war 2021.
https://x.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1964294273597054994