Russian ferrotitanium market sees oversupply
----Interview with Vitaliy Pozarenko
General Manager
Uralspetssplav Ltd.
- Founded in 1998, the company mainly collects non-ferrous scrap metal for large plants in the Urals (UMMC, Revda non-ferrous metals processing plant, Kamensk-Uralsky non-ferrous metals processing Plant). In 2003, the company launched a plant for production of ferrotitanium. In 2005, the company ranked the third in the production and export of ferrotitanium from Russia. Thanks to their many years of experience in export market, they are ready to supply various ferroalloys according to different requirements anywhere in the world.
- Asian Metal: Hi Vitaliy, welcome to the interview by Asian Metal. Please give us a brief induction about your company’s main business and production situation first.
- Vitaliy: Hello! Thank you for the opportunity to join this interview. Our company is located in the city of Chelyabinsk in Russia. We have been producing ferrotitanium 70%min for over 17 years and we sell worldwide. From 2018 to 2020, we worked a lot with China. It seems that we were the first in Russia who started working with China and established cooperation with several companies, delivering our ferrotitanium to different ports in China. We produced around 2,000t of ferrotitanium in 2022 and produce around 150-200 tons per month so far in 2023. We can also produce ferrotitanium 30%min and 35%min.
- Asian Metal: What is the production volume of ferrotitanium in Russia in 2022 and how has it changed from last year? Will there be any new change in 2023?
- Vitaliy: Most of the local plants in Russia adjust their production according to their domestic and foreign orders, and the monthly production capacity of the Russian national plant in 2022 reached about 1,000-2,000 tons. The total annual production volume in 2022 reached around 18,000 tons, and the total annual production volume in 2021 reached about 15,000 tons. Restrained by the European and American sanctions, the total production volume will continue to decline to around 12,000 tons in 2023. Our company often faces sales problems and raw material shortage due to COVID-19, the special military operations and sanctions. Although we are actively seeking new opportunities, I would say that business is getting more and more difficult every year.
- Asian Metal: How about the consumption volume in Russian ferrotitanium market in 2022? What about the outlook in 2023?
- Vitaliy: Russian producers of ferrotitanium produce many times more than Russia itself consumes, so 80-90% of ferrotitanium produced in Russia is exported to various countries. The monthly consumption of downstream consumers in the country remains about 200-300 tons. The total consumption volume in 2022 was about 3,000 tons and the export volume was about 10,000 tons; while the total consumption volume in 2021 was about 5,000 tons and the export volume was over 20,000 tons. Domestic demand is expected to pick up slightly in 2023, with total consumption volume estimated at around 3,600 tons and export volume at around 10,000-12,000 tons in total.
- Asian Metal: What is the situation about your export volume to Europe?
- Vitaliy: We still ship to Europe and America, but we have more difficulties with payments and delivery due to sanctions complicate cooperation. We used to export around 200 tons per month to Europe before the conflict while our export volume reduced by half to 100tpm after the conflict so far this year.
- Asian Metal: Do you consider selling to other countries?
- Vitaliy: I often pay attention to the prices in China and want to find the right time to enter the Chinese market. If the price in Europe falls and, accordingly, for raw materials in Russia too, then I will immediately be ready to ship to China, but so far, unfortunately, this has not happened! Our advantage is that we are very flexible in negotiations and we do not have a large staff of employees, when a buyer contacts us, he has the opportunity to communicate directly with the company's management and instantly receive answers to possible questions. I believe that the quality of our goods is always valued in the world market, sometimes customers are chasing the price, but high quality gives us the opportunity to remain stable on the market.
- Asian Metal: What is the difference between Chinese material and Russian material? Do you think it could be replaced by each other under certain situation?
- Vitaliy: In China, the ferrotitanium standard is slightly different, but we could easily fulfill orders for the chemical composition required in China, so our ferrotitanium can be used by Chinese factories. Chinese and Russian ferrotitanium can be substituted for each other under certain circumstances, and there are no special technical barriers.
- Asian Metal: What is the biggest challenge for your company in the near future? What is your plan for future sales and development?
- Vitaliy: The biggest problem is sanctions and reduced demand in Europe, problems with payment and delivery. Despite this, there are solutions, but they are more expensive and make cooperation more difficult. We will be glad if this interview will help the development of Russia's business with Asia, now this is the main direction where I would like to move.
