Southeast Europe (SEE) crude steel production continued to decrease in January-July, according to the latest worldsteel data monitored by Kallanish. Regional output amounted to 2.002 million tonnes, down by -28.7% year-on-year.
In the first half of the year regional production had fallen -25.8% on-year to 1.82mt.
Serbia was again the largest steel producer among the seven countries of SEE, which also include Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, North Macedonia and Moldova.
Serbia’s production of crude steel totalled 857,000t in January-July, down by -26.7% y-o-y.
The second-largest producer in the region, Bulgaria, saw its crude steel output fell -20.5% to 280,000t.
Third-largest steel producer Slovenia saw production of 324,000t, down by -14.8% y-o-y.
Fourth-largest Bosnia and Herzegovina saw its crude steel output down by -37.1% to 305,000t.
The fifth-largest steel producer, Moldova, produced 162,000t, down by -24.7% y-o-y.
Although Serbia’s crude steel production decreased, construction growth provides a positive outlook for the country’s steel industry, according to long steelmaker Metalfer (see Kallanish passim). The Serbian government stepped up construction projects in the run up to the general election, which the ruling party of President Aleksandar Vucic won in the early summer.
