'As far as our enterprise is concerned, the domestic market is what matters most for our development,’ BOD Chairman of Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) Viktor Rashnikov says. He believes the company is going to ship more metal goods to domestic consumers this year, as the Russian market keeps experiencing an annual increase of 7% to 10% a year in metal produce consumption.

'Ours is a very good position for using this market’s potential to the fullest: we are both geographically close to the major consumers and have long-term relations with the key customers,’ Mr. Rashnikov notes.

MMK’s share in the Russian metal goods output came to 19% of the total amount in 2006. The enterprise is Russia’s biggest producer of certain kinds of highest value-added metal goods. Last year, Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works shipped over 6 million tons of goods to Russian customers, which was 1 million tons better than a year earlier and made up 54% of the company’s total output in 2006. This year, the company intends to raise its output by 1 million tons of metal goods, all of which will be sold on the home market. MMK’s share of exported goods amounted to 36.1% in January-June 2007, whereas the figure used to come to 48.5% as recently as one year earlier. The enterprise managed to nearly triple its share of domestic sales in 1996-2006, MMK’s press officer reports.