Jassim Al Abbas, Vice Chairman of the National Iron Industry Committee and General Manager of Sales, Marketing and Business Development at Al Ittifaq Steel Company, said that the expected demand for reinforcing steel and coils during the current year 2024 is about 7.5 million tons.

Al Abbas explained in an interview with Argaam on the sidelines of the first meeting of iron and steel, that the demand for reinforcing steel during the first half of 2024 was strong.

He added that the demand for steel is stable and is witnessing growth in light of major projects in the Kingdom, such as the Cube Project, which consumes no less than 2.2 million tons, in addition to a group of stadiums that will be built and which consume large quantities of reinforcing steel.

When asked about the supply chains in the iron sector, Al Abbas stated that the supply chains in the Kingdom depend on two types of raw materials, which are scrap iron or raw materials imported from abroad, specifically from Brazil, explaining that there are two factories that depend on imported raw materials, namely Al-Ettifaq Company and Hadid Company, and the rest of the smelting factories depend on scrap iron.

He explained that scrap iron is currently witnessing great pressure that reaches a state of shortage and price instability, as it is a vital commodity and is linked to the global market, so it plays a major role in price stability, indicating that prices will witness stability during the fourth quarter of this year.

He pointed to the state of low prices or balance that the world is currently witnessing, noting that prices and demand in the Kingdom are different from other countries due to the presence of a number of future projects and vision projects, in addition to the geographical location of Saudi Arabia that allows it to export abroad.

He stated that most of the factories in the Kingdom export abroad, such as the Ittefaq Steel Company, which exports to the Iraqi market, which relies heavily on Saudi steel, in addition to the markets of Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain, revealing that the Ittefaq Steel Company will launch the first ship to export to Canada this month. He said that Saudi steel is preferred in many countries of the world and is witnessing continued demand, as it contributes to giant projects in neighboring countries.