Posted on 27 Jun 2019
The crude steel production by African region recorded notable increase during the month of May this year. The cumulative output during the initial five-month period of the year too was up considerably when matched with the previous year.
According to recent crude steel production statistics published by the World Steel Association (worldsteel), the African region recorded total monthly production of 1.320 million tonnes (Mt) in May this year. This is considerably higher by 8.5% when compared with the previous year. The African crude steel output had totaled only 1.216 Mt in May last year.
Egypt, the largest regional steel producer reported increased output during the month. The Egyptian crude steel output totaled around 750,000 tonnes, accounting for approximately 57% of the total regional output. The country’s output surged higher significantly by 19.8% over the previous year. Egypt’s production had totaled 626,000 tonnes in May 2018.
South Africa, with a monthly output of 510,000 tonnes, continued to be the second largest steel producing country in the region. However, the output witnessed a year-on-year decline of 10.3%. Meantime, Libyan output totaled 60,000 tonnes, skyrocketing by 167% over the previous year.
The cumulative output by the African region during the initial five-month period of the year totaled 6.509 Mt, higher by 9.3% when compared with the output of 5.955 Mt during the corresponding five months in 2018. The leading producers were Egypt (3.590 Mt), South Africa (2.679 Mt) and Libya (240,000 tonnes). All the three countries recorded increased output in year-to-date period in 2019, as compared with the previous year.
