Egyptian domestic market rebar sales surged 21% on-year in April to 633,400 tonnes, according to the latest Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) data monitored by Kallanish.

The average price of April sales rose 33% to EGP 12,810/tonne ($727 at April exchange rates). This was an all-time high, beating the price reported in March.

Rebar production surged 52% in April to 706,500t. Egyptian crude steel production that month rose 13.3% to 615,000t, according to worldsteel data.

Egyptian rebar sales in January-April thus soared 33% on-year to 2.56 million tonnes, adding to their 2% on-year growth in full-year 2017.

Four-month rebar production increased 40% to 2.76mt. Egyptian crude steel output rose 15.8% to 2.53mt. This suggests a portion of billet requirement was still imported despite recent crude steelmaking capacity additions.

Egyptian rebar production should benefit from the five-year anti-dumping duties imposed last December on imports of rebar and wire rod from China, Turkey and Ukraine. There are suggestions, however, that Egyptian rebar mills will face greater competition from imports from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Iron & Steel Company (Hadeed) and Rajhi Steel have both secured approval to supply rebar to Egypt.

Egypt sourced 10,000t of billet from Saudi Arabia in April, according to Saudi General Authority for Statistics data, taking its four-month intake from Saudi to 34,980t. Egypt also imported 9,200t of rebar from Saudi.

Egypt’s trade and industry ministry said last week it is targeting increased exports of metals and construction materials to Central Asia, the Arab Gulf nations and especially West Africa (see Kallanish passim).