emirates7 - The UAE’s Steel Producers Committee held an urgent meeting to discuss the current developments within local rebar market, where it affirmed the members' commitment to supply the UAE market with the necessary rebar requirements as well as maintaining market stability in order to support the construction sector and the economy respectively, tradearabia reported.

The committee was set up in 2020 with the aim of protecting the interests of its members across the UAE by helping them achieve their full growth potential and business goals and addressing challenges they may face in the future.

It is made up of 15 industry leaders who are committed to strengthening the national steel industry.

Under the Steel Producers Committee, there are 5 sub-committees dedicated to steel manufacturing processes, including pipes and tubes, coated steel coils, reinforced steel bars and wire rod steel coils, raw materials, and steel sections, according to tradearabia.

During the meeting, the panel members attributed the current fluctuations in rebar prices to the scarcity of steel billets, evident by the increase in prices by 27%, stemming from the ongoing repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, as these two countries are among the largest suppliers of the product globally.

Each year, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus export about 6.6 million tonnes of billets. Currently, all of these quantities are off the market. Since mid-February, the international markets also witnessed a significant increase of 20% on iron ore prices and 28% on iron scrap, by.

The rise in energy prices and sea freight rates also contributed to playing a major role in the fluctuations in the UAE rebar market.

Commenting on the developments, Committee Chairman Engineer Saeed Ghumran Al Remeithi said: "The aim of the committee is to seek and meet the steel demand within the local market, in line with our main objectives at achieving a balance between demand and supply and maintaining the continuity of our members’ business, despite the current developments and concerns."

"We will continue to coordinate with our members to ensure the overall interest of producers, contractors and end users are achieved to avoid any unjustified price increase and mitigate the negative effects of a global market fallout," he added.

Dr Musa Souri, Director of the Rebar and Wire Rods Steel Producers Subcommittee, pointed out that the uncertainty in global markets had cast a shadow on the steel sector in the UAE.

"We are co-ordinating with local producers to discuss these challenges in order to ensure the availability of raw materials needed to manufacture the steel and mitigate the current rises on the end users as well as maintaining the sustainable approach towards the steel industry in the UAE," stated Souri.

"Emirates Steel has amplified its production quantities during the current month, an increase of 35% compared to last February with the aim of meeting the growing demand, maintaining a market balance, and supporting the local construction sector by providing more rebar product in the local market," he added.

The committee emphasized that various countries across the world are currently witnessing an accelerated rise in rebar prices.

Currently, rebar prices in the GCC and Mena region have hiked by an average of more than 30%, thus indicating these developments are global, and the UAE is susceptible affected by what happens anywhere.

The members said as part of its social responsibility, the committee will seek to ensure the availability of rebar products and reducing the impact of high prices on the end users while marinating the sustainability of this vital industry.