Rising production costs force Ezz Steel into October price hike
Ezz Steel will raise local rebar prices by 1,000 Egyptian pounds (nearly $20) per ton in October, an official source at a steel trading company confirmed to Al Manassa.
The decision marks the latest price adjustment by major steelmakers as domestic producers grapple with currency depreciation, surging imported raw material costs, and shrinking foreign markets following punitive US anti-dumping duties.
The hike pushes Ezz’s factory-gate price from 39,850 pounds (about $770) to 40,850 pounds (roughly $790). The source, who requested anonymity, said consumer prices remain unfinalized but noted that steel previously traded at 41,284 pounds (about $805) per ton.
The move follows a similar decision by El Garhy Steel, which raised its factory-gate price by 1,100 pounds to 39,200 pounds per ton on Tuesday.
A second source in the steel industry attributed the recent price hikes to ongoing pressure on production costs. This is driven by rising global raw material prices, particularly iron ore and scrap metal, alongside the climbing dollar exchange rate, which directly impacts the import cost of production inputs and raw materials.
The dollar exchange rate rose mid-month above the 52-pound mark, coinciding with significant increases in global energy prices, before dipping in the last two days to 51.60 pounds per dollar.
The source added that raw material prices have surged by 15% to 20% recently, alongside higher shipping and transportation costs. “Therefore, steel prices in the local market must be raised given the heavy reliance on importing iron ore,” he said.
Compounding domestic pressures, the US International Trade Commission formally implemented anti-dumping duties ranging between 34.20% and 52.73% on Egyptian steel exports this month.
The United States had imposed temporary countervailing duties on Egyptian rebar exports in January, before applying temporary anti-dumping duties in March pending the conclusion of investigations. Last July, the US Department of Commerce announced the final calculations for the anti-dumping duties before moving to enforce them this month.
The new duties limit opportunities for Egyptian exports, according to Mohamed Hanafi, director of the Metallurgical Industries Chamber. He told Al Manassa, “Egyptian rebar exports to the United States dropped from about $140 million in 2024 to roughly $30 million in 2025. I expect them to reach negligible levels.”
Total Egyptian iron and steel exports reached about $1.8 billion in 2025, declining by 17.3% from the previous year’s exports.
The industrial sector source noted that “it is difficult to find alternatives to the US market given the trend of many countries imposing safeguard tariffs to protect their local industries.”
The European Union previously imposed anti-dumping duties on its imports of Egyptian hot-rolled steel in 2025 for a period of five years.
The industrial source said the Egyptian market is operating at a relatively low production capacity. “We have production capacities of about 15 million tons, but only about 8 to 9 million tons are being produced,” he said. Despite export restrictions and surplus production capacities, the source believes Ezz’s decision to raise the price was necessary due to surging production costs.