OREANDA-NEWS. Hardware shipments by Zhlobin-based Belarusian Metallurgical Plant (BMZ) stood at 409,224 tonnes in January-December 2013, up 4.7% on the year, an official with the plant told.

Metal cord output went up 5.3% to 81,731 tonnes. Bead wire output grew 27.3% to 38,314 tonnes.

Steel wire output amounted to 254,803 tonnes, up 1.4% year-on-year.

Rolled steel output stood at 1.375 million tonnes, down 7.6% on the year; steel pipes - 130,706 tonnes (up 7.3%).

Hardware output reduced 3.7% to 391,259 tonnes.

BMZ reports a 35% decrease in product inventories in 2013 in comparison with the level of 2012.

Exports of pipes and hardware is the areas where the metal company has produced the most impressive result. BMZ considerably increases exports of seamless pipes to the United States and signed contracts to supply pipes to Venezuela and the Netherlands. BMZ has forwarded experimental shipments of metal cord to China, Argentina, India.

BMZ steel output amounted to 2.242 million tonnes in January-December 2013, down 16.7% on the year; rolled stock - 2.202 million tonnes (down 0.9%), steel pipes - 129,078 tonnes (up 3.6%).

State-owned company Belarusian Metallurgical Plant was launched in 1984. BMZ exports about 85% of its output. In Jan-Sep 2013 BMZ products were exported to the EU, Russia, the Middle East, Ukraine, the United States, Africa, South Africa. The EU, the Middle East and Russia account for 86.6% of the BMZ's total exports.