Jassim Al Abbas, Common Supervisor of Advertising and marketing, Gross sales and Enterprise Improvement at Al Ittifaq Metal Firm
mentioned Jassim Al Abbas, Common Supervisor of Advertising and marketing, Gross sales and Enterprise Improvement on the firm Iron settlementThe native demand for iron quantities to 7.5 million tons yearly, whereas the mixed manufacturing capability of all iron factories within the Kingdom is about 15 million tons yearly.
He added in an interview with numbersOn the sidelines of the Third Saudi Worldwide Iron and Metal Convention, he mentioned that there isn’t a slowdown in native demand for iron as believed, explaining that demand is rising at an annual price ranging between 2% and three%, indicating that trendy manufacturing capacities have captured a part of the share of present factories, which created an inaccurate impression of a slowdown, whereas the precise demand stays steady and balanced.
He identified that the demand for rebar consists of all varieties of tasks, whether or not mega and giga tasks linked to the Kingdom’s Imaginative and prescient 2030, or funding and particular person tasks.
He identified that scrap costs contained in the Kingdom are among the many highest within the Center East, and generally even exceed worldwide costs.
He said that the native market suffers from a restricted provide of scrap in comparison with the excessive demand, which makes costs in a state of steady rise and shortage. He expects that these pressures will improve within the coming years with the entry of latest factories into the market through the yr 2025, because the latest interval witnessed the addition of 4 new factories that depend on native scrap in manufacturing processes, indicating that the continued ban on the import of scrap will preserve the market below rising strain.
Concerning the aggressive panorama, he defined that the sector is witnessing a transparent discrepancy between giant factories with big investments and small factories with restricted prices, which has triggered a big hole when it comes to price.
He identified that some small factories import metal blocks from overseas at costs decrease than the native manufacturing price, which permits them to promote at low costs that put strain on main factories and pressure them to cut back costs seeking survival, indicating that this decline in costs is taken into account unhealthy, and results in the erosion of revenue margins and the arrival of some corporations to the break-even level, thus threatening the soundness of the business.
Concerning exports, he mentioned that the yr 2025 is taken into account one of many lowest years within the quantity of exports because of the restrictions imposed by some goal markets, comparable to Iraq imposing a 30% charge on imported iron, along with the distinctive circumstances that restricted exports to Yemen.
He added that the corporate hopes that circumstances will enhance and markets will open quickly, noting that Canada has decreased import quotas for the present yr after the Kingdom exported good portions through the previous yr, whereas the Syrian market is taken into account some of the promising markets within the subsequent stage, stressing that authorities assist for nationwide industries and the institution of Saudi exhibitions overseas improve the alternatives for export growth for Saudi corporations.
Al-Abbas confused that the iron sector within the Kingdom is taking a brand new strategic path in the direction of the manufacture of particular metal, which is the kind utilized in heavy industries comparable to ships, trains, and many others., including that the upcoming main tasks comparable to Expo 2030 and the 2034 World Cup will assist native demand for iron, along with the discharge of white lands, which is anticipated to activate the development sector and lift the tempo of demand through the coming interval.
He additionally confirmed that the sector is shifting in the direction of a constructive part supported by main growth tasks and the Kingdom’s Imaginative and prescient 2030, anticipating that the third and fourth quarters of this yr will witness a gradual enchancment in demand and value ranges.
He identified that the corporate is the second largest producer within the personal sector within the Kingdom, explaining that the corporate’s factories are unfold throughout the jap, central and western areas with a manufacturing capability of three million tons of rebar, 2 million tons of iron blocks, and 1.5 million tons of sponge iron.
