Steel demand in North Africa is projected to grow by around 3% in the coming year to 23.5 million tonnes, delegates were told at Fastmarkets' Middle East Iron & Steel Conference in Dubai on December 9-11.
Ramy Saleh, the chief business development officer at Egypt's El Marakby Steel cited gross domestic product and population growth as the main drivers of steel demand in the region, which, according to Arabian Steel Industries deputy managing director Hesham Saad, accounts for 40% of the continent's steel consumption. North Africa consists of Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia."North Africa is currently the world's number two after the [East Asia] when it comes to economic growth, which is generating demand for steel," he said. The region's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow by 3.6% this year, Saleh said.Egypt, North Africa's leading economy, is set to record a GDP growth of 5.5% in 2019 and 5.9% in 2020, he added. The country also has the largest population in the region, at 100 million, and accounts for 51% of the region's total steel...