The Czech Republic saw semi-finished steel imports surge in the first half of 2025, with long steel intake falling. Imports of the largest product group – flats – inched up, Kallanish notes from GTT data.
Semis intake surged 79% on-year in H1 to 663,358t. This coincided with the resumption of some steel production on a tolling basis at the beleaguered Liberty Ostrava mill, with semis feedstock supplied by two separate companies. The plant’s blast furnace has been idled since 2023.
Ostrava was recently acquired by a consortium comprising SPV NH Ostrava and SPV NH Koksovna, companies owned by former Czech interior minister Martin Pecina. However, it is unclear whether the new investor plans to restart the blast furnace.
Plate re-roller Vitkovice Steel has meanwhile been acquired by Jindal Steel, which is eyeing installing a new electric arc furnace at the plant, which would see it produce its own slab for the first time since 2015. The Czech firm nevertheless signed a memorandum of understanding with Oman-based Jindal subsidiary Vulcan Green Steel for the future supply of 1 million tonnes/year of slab.
Czech Republic was among the countries to lobby the European Commission to continue allowing an EU quota for Russian-origin slab imports, on which it depends for flat steelmaking.
Despite the problems at Ostrava, however, Czech iron ore imports grew 2% in H1 to 1.49mt.
Czech imports of longs meanwhile inched down 1% to 858,636t. Intake of flats rose 4% to 2.1mt.
On Czech exports, shipments of longs and flats rose 6% and 9% respectively to 1.06mt and 498,221t, while semis exports surged 22% to 126,311t – despite the growth in their imports.
Adam Smith Austria
