Romania’s Donalam urges state support amid low-priced imports
Beltrame’s Romania-based Donalam unit, with steel mills in Calarasi and Targoviste, is sounding the alarm to authorities regarding what it says is a crisis in the steel industry, Kallanish notes.
The sector is experiencing its most difficult period in decades, facing challenges that endanger the survival of local producers, the enterprise claims.
“Massive imports of cheap steel from outside the EU, from Turkey, China, Egypt, and the Maghreb states, have surged by 27% on-year in 2024, suffocating European producers, who are required to comply with strict environmental standards and bear significantly higher production costs,” Donalam says.
“While the European Union passively watches the collapse of its steel industry, other countries, like the US and China, are taking concrete measures to protect its producers. For instance, the 25% tariffs imposed by Donald Trump on steel imports, with no exceptions or exemptions, demonstrate a strategic approach to safeguarding the domestic economy,” it adds.
The EU, on the other hand, remains vulnerable, lacking comparable protective policies, exposing its industry to unfair competition and dumping. Without urgent action, Europe risks becoming dependent on imports from outside the bloc, to the detriment of its own producers, the firm warns.
Industrial consumers in Romania meanwhile pay the highest final electricity prices in the EU, a real competitive handicap, Donalam continues.
“In January, the final energy price paid by an industrial consumer was €139/MWh ($145), while in Italy it was €71/MWh, in France €56/MWh, and in Bulgaria, it was capped at €108/MWh. Given that in Romania, by mid-February, we are witnessing a dramatic increase in the spot price of active energy to approximately €200/MWh, the urgent need for the implementation of a solid state aid scheme capable of genuinely protecting the industry against the explosion of energy prices becomes evident,” Donalam adds.
“We emphasise that Romania is the only EU country where such state support does not exist, after the war in Ukraine and global instability have led to a dramatic increase in raw material costs and severe supply chain disruptions, significantly impacting production,” the producer notes. “The absurdity reaches a new level, after Romanian exports enormous quantities of scrap metal to non-EU countries every year, only to later import finished products made from the same material at dumping prices.”
Despite an unfavourable market, Donalam says it remains committed to its long-term strategic objectives for Romania, focusing on investments in equipment modernisation and increased production efficiency. It invested nearly €20 million in 2024 alone, using its own resources.
“These are a clear testament to our commitment to transforming Donalam into a leading steel producer in Europe, both in the special steels segment and in rebar output,” says Donalam chief executive Carlo Beltrame. “What we want to emphasise is that heavy industry needs real and immediate state support and protection to remain competitive. Additionally, solutions must be found to limit the access of dumping-priced steel products to the Romanian market.”
Svetoslav Abrossimov Bulgaria
