OREANDA-NEWS. April 14, 2008. The Expert Council on Promoting Competition in Metallurgy, at the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia), discussed pricing on the markets of special steels and alloys, used for the needs of the military-industrial complex; the prospects of manufacturing bars for reinforcing concrete structures, required to implement a national project "Affordable Housing - to the Citizens of Russia" and the "Sochi-2014" Olympic project; and the situation on the markets of metal products used by the fuel-and-energy complex, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

The reporters were the Chairman of the Expert Council - Deputy Head of FAS Russia Andrei Tsyganov, the Deputy Chairman of the Expert Council, the Head of the Department for Industry Control Alexei Ulyanov, the Deputy Head of the Department for Industry Control Alexei Ivanov, representatives of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Energy, "Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works" OJSC, "SeverStal" OJSC, the Metalloinvest group, the United Aircraft Corporation, the "Saturn" Development and Production Association, the Tubular Industry Development Fund, and the Russian Mining and Metallurgical Company.

Reporting on some problems on the markets of special steels and alloys, used for the needs of the military-industrial complex, the Deputy Head of the Department for Industry Control Alexei Ivanov reminded the session that this year FAS Russia hold liable for antimonopoly violations: the "Elektrostal" Metallurgical Works" OJSC - for setting and maintaining monopolistically high prices on special steels, and "Alcoa Rus" Ltd. - for failure to fulfill the determination issued by the antimonopoly authority with regard to non-execution of a supply contract with the "Oboronpromcomplex" Public Corporation" OJSC. Moreover, in 2008 FAS Russia initiated a case against "Ruspolimet" OJSC for breaching Clause 1 Part 1 Article 10 of the Federal Law "On Protection of Competition"; "Ruspolimet" OJSC violated the law by setting monopolistically high prices on ring blanks.

Representatives of integrated iron-and-steel works drew attention of the members of the Expert Council to low capacity utilization of the companies manufacturing products for the executing agencies of the governmental defense contracts, as well as to non-compliance with the contract terms by some executing agencies for the governmental defense contracts (failure to accept the stated output). At the same time, representatives of the largest metallurgical companies expressed their readiness to enter in direct long-term, fixed price (for a year) supply contracts with the executing agencies for the governmental defense contracts.

The Head of the Department for Industry Control Alexei Ulyanov pointed out that from 2003 FAS Russia regularly monitors prices on bars for reinforcing concrete structures and it appears that the rate of production increase of the bars for reinforcing concrete structures, promised by the Russian metallurgical companies, do no match the rate of growth in housing construction, including implementation of a national project "Affordable Housing - to the Citizens of Russia" and the "Sochi-2014" Olympic project.

As a follow-up of the discussion on the prospects of manufacturing the bars for reinforcing concrete structures, a working group at the Expert Council was charged with analyzing the situation on the market of the bars for reinforcing concrete structures. The group shall present its findings at the next meeting of the Expert Council.

Andrei Tsyganov informed the members of the Expert Council about the petitions which FAS Russia had received from oil and gas companies regarding possible increase of prices on metal products, used for manufacturing oil and gas pipes, and that FAS Russia initiated an inspection to check whether the largest metallurgical companies - Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works" OJSC, "SeverStal" OJSC, "Ural Steel" OJSC, "Novolipetsk Steel" OJSC - observe the antimonopoly legislation in terms of setting prices on the above metal products.