MOSCOW (Realist English). Russian metallurgists are critically dependent on foreign key equipment and, due to sanctions, will be forced to look for workarounds to purchase it or switch to lower-quality analogues, Kommersant writes with reference to the project for the development of the Russian metallurgical industry till 2030.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade, which developed the document reviewed by the newspaper, notes that almost all equipment along the entire value chain comes from “unfriendly countries”.
“In particular, in Russia there are practically no technologies for the production of high-quality refractories for blast furnace and steelmaking industries. Almost all of their types are imported from abroad, and those produced in Russia do not meet international standards.
In addition, Russia lags behind the world leaders in technologies of the steel sector – equipment for the conversion of the sinter cycle, rolling mills, galvanizing lines, polymer coating lines, heating furnaces are not produced. The production of rolls for rolling mills, which have been mostly imported recently, has been practically lost,” the article notes.
The document also says that Western suppliers are refusing to work with Russian companies.
“The metallurgists will have to partially purchase in Asia equipment inferior in technical characteristics. Thus, aluminum producers will have to purchase the most critical equipment for production through intermediaries in third countries, which will increase the delivery time and cost.”
