Page 120 - RusRPTDec23

biggest producers of diamonds, but due to lobbying by Belgium, they have been excluded from the previous eleven rounds of sanctions.
Antwerp is one of the world's major diamond trading centres and accounted for over half of Russia's total diamond exports of 28.2mn carats, worth approximately $2.5bn in 2021. The overall value of Russian diamond exports, estimated at $3.87bn in the past year according to Kimberley Process data, is considerably smaller than other key exports such as oil and fertilisers, which remain unaffected by sanctions.
Russia remains the world's largest exporter of rough diamonds by volume (35%). In 2021, it exported $4bn worth of diamonds, 90% of which went to Alrosa. In 2022, exports barely decreased, and Belgium alone imported €1.4bn worth of Russian diamonds.
9.2.12 Mines and Minerals - steel & iron
Russia’s steel consumption rose by 7% on the year to 35.1mn tonnes in January–September, steel producer Severstal said in a statement on November 3. The construction industry’s demand for metals rose by 9% on the year to 27.4mn tonnes in the period. Steel consumption in machinery construction grew by 12% to 3.5mn tonnes. Steel consumption in the energy sector showed a 3% decline to 4.2mn tonnes due to reduction of Gazprom’s investment program of.
Steel production in Russia in October 2023 increased by 9.5% y/y to 6.3mn tonnes in October 2022, according to a report by the World Steel Association. China produced 79.1mn tonnes in October, which is 1.8% less than in October 2022, India produced 12.1mn tonnes (up by 15.1%). Steel output in Japan in October increased by 2.6% (to 7.5mn tonnes), and also increased in the United States - by 3.4% (to 6.8mn tonnes). At the same time, amid the industry meltdown EU countries produced 10.6mn tonnes of steel, down 7.1% from a year earlier.
The Czech Republic asked for a longer exemption for imports from Russian steel company Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) during November 17 meeting of EU ambassadors to discuss the next round of sanctions against Moscow, newspaper Politico reported citing three EU diplomats. The automotive sector is a linchpin for the Czech Republic’s economy, accounting for about 10% of national gross domestic product (GDP) — one of the highest totals in the world. As home to big manufacturers like Volkswagen Group’s Skoda and Hyundai Motor’s Czech subsidiary, it is one of Europe’s leading automotive production and manufacturing hubs. NLMK is a crucial supplier: It produces nearly all of its flat and long steel products in Russia, but nearly a quarter of its rolling operations are sited in Europe, closer to its industry customers. The Czechs, together with other countries, including Italy and
120 RUSSIA Country Report December 2023 www.intellinews.com