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 to support the construction sector and the economy respectively.

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 potential and business goals and addressing challenges they may face in the future.

Under the Steel Producers Committee, which is is made up of 15 industry leaders,  there are five 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.

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 per cent, on the back 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 per cent on iron ore prices and 28 per cent on iron scrap. The rise in energy prices and sea freight rates also contributed to playing a 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.

The committee emphasised that various countries 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 per cent.

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.