Influence of russia-Ukraine situation on China's graphite electrode export

Influence of russia-Ukraine situation on China's graphite electrode export .

With tensions rising between Russia and Ukraine,Europe and the United States and other countries have intensified sanctions against Russia ,Some of Russia's biggest industrial companies, such as Severstal steel, have also announced that they will stop supplying the EU.Affected by this, the recent rise in global commodity prices as a whole, especially some products closely related to Russia (such as aluminum hot rolled plate coil coal, etc.), Price increases were generally at the forefront .

a. Import and export situation of graphite electrodes in Russia

Russia is a net importer of graphite electrodes,the annual import of graphite electrode is about 40,000 tons.More than half of these resources come from China, with the rest coming from India, France and Spain.But Russia also exports nearly 20,000 tons of graphite electrodes each year,mainly to the United States, the European Union, Belarus, Kazakhstan and other countries.Because the specification of electric arc furnace of the countries in the above regions is more than 150 tons, the graphite electrode exported by Russia is also dominated by large specifications and ultra-high power electrode .

In terms of production, Energoprom Group is the main electrode manufacturer in Russia,

There are graphite electrode factories in Novocherkassk, Novosibirsk and Chelyabinsk. The annual output of graphite electrode is about 60,000 tons, and the actual output is 30,000-40,000 tons/year. In addition, Russia's fourth largest oil company is also planning to build a new needle coke, graphite electrode project.

From the point of view of demand, more than half of Russia's ultra-high power electrodes come from imports, ordinary power graphite electrode is mainly supplied by domestic , and high power graphite electrode basically accounts for half.

b.To China graphite electrode export drive

It is understood that after the war between Russia and Ukraine, the price of large-specification ultra-high power electrodes in some European markets has reached about $5500 / ton due to the double impact of increased production costs and Russian export interruption.Looking at the global market, the production capacity of graphite electrode manufacturers in India has been relatively stable in recent years, except for a small expansion, so it is a good opportunity for Chinese graphite electrode manufacturers.On the one hand, it can increase the export to eu countries, and the large specification ultra-high power electrode can fill the former market share of Nearly 15,000-20,000 tons in Russia. The main competitors may be the United States and Japan.

On the other hand, the export of domestic electrodes to Russia can be increased to make up for the reduction in the export of EU countries to Russia, and the main competitor may be India.

Overall, it is estimated that the geopolitical conflict may increase China's graphite electrode exports by 15,000-20,000 tons per year.