Polish ministry to host large-scale steel industry meeting

The Polish industry ministry will host a meeting in early November with representatives of steel trade unions and management from steel companies to discuss the “overall functioning of the industry”, industry minister Marzena Czarnecka posted on X.

This follows a meeting with trade unions this week to discuss current steel company order levels, protecting industry jobs, financing investments and ensuring steel plants continue to operate, Kallanish notes.

Like the rest of Europe, Poland’s steel industry has experienced a downturn since the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2022 amid high inflation and interest rates, as well as geopolitical uncertainty slowing economic growth and, most importantly, hammering the construction sector. Manufacturing has meanwhile been hit by elevated energy and carbon costs. This has been coupled with lower-priced imports as Chinese domestic demand has slowed and resulted in growing Chinese exports that have displaced Asian steel into Western markets.

Largest steelmaker ArcelorMittal Poland ended coke-making in Krakow this year after shutting the hot-end in 2020, while its flagship Dabrowa Gornicza works is eyeing a costly transition to electric arc furnace steelmaking. Plate maker Liberty Huta Czestochowa is insolvent and seeking a new owner, while Celsa, which is experiencing its own financial problems, is widely reported to have put its Huta Ostrowiec plant up for sale.

CMC Poland and Cognor are the country’s other major steelmakers.

Adam Smith Poland