Ukraine’s steel output down 13 pct so far in 2017

Motherland Monument (pictured) is a monumental statue in Kiev, Ukraine. The sculpture is a part of the Museum of The History of Ukraine in World War II. The stainless steel statue stands at 203 ft. (Shutterstock image)

KIEV, Dec 1 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s steel production in the eleven months to end-November fell 13 percent year-on-year to 19.4 million tonnes, Ukrainian steel producers’ union Ukrmetallurgprom said on Friday.

Steel production rose 5.5 percent in 2016 to 24.2 million tonnes as the industry picked up after a sharp drop the previous year due to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where most of the country’s steel production is based.

Data from the producers’ union showed pig iron output fell by 16 percent to 18.2 million tonnes in the first eleven months of this year, while rolled steel production was down 15 percent at 16.7 million tonnes.

The union said Ukraine produced 1.87 million tonnes of steel, 1.83 million tonnes of pig iron and 1.6 million tonnes of rolled steel in November.

It has said the steel output was likely to total 21.1 million tonnes in 2017.

Steel, chemicals and agricultural goods make up the majority of Ukraine’s exports.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk. Editing by Jane Merriman).