January
19, 2003
Venezuela's Sidor sees
2004 exports at 2.5 mln tns
(Reuters) - "Venezuelan
steelmaker Sidor, the Andean region's largest
finished products manufacturer, expects to export
2.5 million tonnes of steel this year, the company
said in a statement.
Sidor (Siderurgica del Orinoco),
joint-owned by the Venezuelan state and a consortium
of South American companies, has forecast liquid
steel production in 2004 at 4 million tonnes after
a recent debt restructuring deal.
Total export figures for last year
were not yet available, a spokeswoman for the
company said. But the company said the statement
that it shipped 419,000 tonnes of steel last week
to the Colombian market, one of its largest clients.
(…) The company produced 3.3
million tonnes of liquid steel in 2002. Sidor's
main customer, the Andean community, gets 33 percent
of its exports, followed by North America which
takes 19 percent. Mexico takes 18 percent and
Central America receives 11 percent of shipments.
In the consortium, Argentine
group Techint holds a 60.5 percent stake through
its Tamsa (TAMSA.MX) unit in Mexico and Siderar
(SID.BA) in Argentina. Mexican steelmaker Hylsamex
(HYLSAMXB.MX) s 19.5 percent, Brazil's Usiminas
(IM3.SA) s 16.6 percent and Venezuelan steelmaker
Sivensa (S.CR) 3, 4 percent".
