During the EUROMETAL Iberia Steel Net Forum in Santiago de Compostela, representatives of Spanish and Portuguese steel distributors said that there have been no major changes in the steel market, with market prices ranging between EUR 5-10/tonne.
Emphasizing that there have been no major changes in demand in the Iberian Peninsula for a long time, Andres Barcelo, director general of Unesid, the association of steel producers, added that the steel market in Spain is facing difficulties due to high energy prices and competition in the market. According to Roberto Gonzalez, president of the Spanish distributors' association Union de Almacenistas de Hierros de Spana (UAHE), stockpiling is progressing at a healthy level despite weak demand in Iberia.
Manuel Nobre, president of Açomefer, the Portuguese steel distributors' association, said that a stable steel distribution chain requires healthy and positive dialogue with customers and demonstration of customer value. At the same time, a service centre representative stressed that the efforts to maintain margins, which are important for steel producers, are also important for distributors, and warned that distributors who cannot maintain their margins evenly will see their investments go to waste.
Josep Arimany, director of the Arimany Ferro group, which provides services in the fields of sales, transport and distribution of steel products, said that he hopes that the development of renewable energy sources will bring more and qualified labour force in the coming periods, and stressed that the business environment must be improved for this to happen.
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