Arab Steel reported that Egyptian iron and steel producing companies have reduced, for the second time, the rebars prices as from March 2009. Ezz Steel has announced cutting their prices down to EGP 3050 per tonnes ex-works. This price is lower by EGP 350 than the level of prices of February, which amounted to EGP 3400 per tonnes. The other producers in Egypt reduced their prices at approximate levels.
This reduction is in response to the decline of the inputs of the iron and steel industry worldwide, according to Ezz Steel, but it also occurs as a result of the impact of the growing competition in the domestic market the intensity of which has increased by the low prices of the steel imported from a number of the exporting countries to the Egyptian market headed by Turkey whose rebars prices to the Egyptian market reached EGP 2900 per tonnes.
The Turkish exports to the Egyptian market account for about 35% of the total Turkish exports to the countries of the Middle East and North Africa during January 2009. The local producers are afraid of the possibility that the continuation of exports in this way would cause a real injury to the local mills due to their inability to match the low prices of the imported products.
The increasing imports of rebars and their low prices led the local producers to demand taking protective measures against the imported steel. President of the Metallic Industries Association in Egypt submitted an official memorandum two days ago to the Ministry of Industry and Trade asking them to impose preventive duties on the imported steel.