Steel Production at Risk: Metallurgists Warn of Risks of Losing Pokrovsk.

Ukrmetallurgprom forecasts annual steel production at the level of 7.3 million tons. The President of the Association of Enterprises "Ukrmetallurgprom" Oleksandr Kalenkov noted that this forecast depends on resolving the main risks - unstable energy supply, shelling of sea ports, and the loss of Pokrovsk.

According to Kalenkov, currently, enterprises located in territories controlled by Ukraine produce about 60-65% of the products compared to pre-war levels. He noted that external market conditions and rising production costs complicate increasing production to the level of 2021.

"We can 'catch up' to 10 million tons if enterprises operate normally. But if we lose the sea corridor, Pokrovsk, and shelling of energy facilities continues, production, on the contrary, may fall," Kalenkov warns.

The main risk for the industry is the situation around Pokrovsk. The Pokrovske Mine Administration is the main supplier of critical raw materials - coking coal. Kalenkov emphasized that coking coal, along with iron ore raw materials, is used in all enterprises of the industry. He noted that in the event of losing this raw material, Ukraine will be forced to import it, which will lead to increased production costs of metallurgical products.

Kalenkov emphasized that in the event of a negative scenario, Ukraine could lose up to 5 billion dollars annually from the export of metallurgical products, as well as 15-20 billion hryvnias in direct and 80-85 billion hryvnias in indirect revenues to the budget.