Russia suspends duty-free imports of Interpipe's pipes

Astrum

Since April 1, the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation started levying duties on imported pipes of Interpipe due to the lack of agreement on the size of 2Q10 quota for dutyfree imports. The final decision on the quota prolongation and its size should be approved on April 15.

In the case that there is no positive decision on the prolongation of the duty-free import of Interpipe’s pipes to Russia, the Group’s sales should go down significantly.

In 2009, Russian pipe market accounted for up to 40% of the Group’s sales, while Interpipe controlled Nyzhnyodniprovsk Pipe (NITR: U/R) and Novomoskovsk Pipe (NVTR: BUY) sold to Russia 46% and 26% of their pipes.