Page 204 - RusRPTMay21

availability and amid lower pig-iron production volumes
· Crude output in the North America segment rose 15% q/q and
11% y/y to 488kt, due to higher flat-rolled sales
· In 2Q21, the company expects steel production to stay flat q/q
amid planned maintenance at EVRAZ Regina. The company expects market sentiment to remain strong in the segments where it operates. For tubular products, improved market demand for OCTG will allow some of the OCTG facilities that have been idle since 2020 to restart
· Sales of steel products rose 18% q/q to 429kt in North America, but fell 17% y/y. The quarterly increase was driven by a 12% rise in construction products sales and a 49% rise in flat-rolled products sales
· Realized steel price rose 35% q/q and 28% y/y to $685/t, following increasing global and domestic steel prices
· Total coking coal concentrate output rose 4% q/q and 13% y/y to 4.2mt
· In 2Q21, raw coal production is expected to decrease q/q amid the long wall move at the Alardinskaya and Raspadskaya mines
· Vanadium slag output fell 5% q/q and 4% y/y to 4.8kt
Evraz is to consider the possibility of mothballing or resuming coal mining at the Mezhegeyugol in June 2021. In February 2020, Evraz suspended operations at Mezhegeyugol for six months due to the weak market demand, and has so far not resumed them. The employees from Mezhegeyugol were sent to the Raspadskaya mine. Analysts think that restarting Mezegeyugol is going to depend on the development of the coal market. If the price environment is favourable, the company might add some 1mnt of hard coking coal, creating a 4% upside risk to its 2021 coal production guidance.
● Fertilisers
Phosagro released 1Q21 Operating Results. The results showed an improvement in most lines, mostly driven by seasonal factors.
· Production volumes of P-fertilizers and MCP rose 8.4% q/q and 2.3% y/y to 1.98mt
· Output in the nitrogen segment increased by 2.9% q/q and 2.3% y/y to 631kt, thanks to an increase in production of commercial ammonium sulphate
· Total fertilizer production increased by 7% q/q and 2.3% y/y in 1Q21, reaching c2.6mt, as modernizations to capacities enabled an increase in NPK production
· Production of phosphate rock and nepheline concentrates was up 3.6% q/q to c2.9mt, though down 2.1% y/y
· Fertilizer sales rose 2.6% y/y and c40% q/q to 2.9mt. This growth
204 RUSSIA Country Report May 2021 www.intellinews.com