#DigitalDialogue with Radik Nosyrev, Founder of Scanalloys LV

Radik, please tell us how you got into the metals and mining industry?

I have been working and doing business in the production and sale of ferroalloy products for more than 30 years. I started my career in the USSR State Foreign Trade Association PROMSYRIEIMPORT (PROMSI) in the ferroalloys department. I was responsible for the coordination and planning of deliveries of ferroalloy products from all ferroalloy plants of the former USSR to seaports and frontier railroad crossings.

In 1991 I founded my own company for purchasing and selling ferroalloy products on the international market for end users in the steel and metallurgical fields under the name NEWVENT.

How long has Scanalloys been on the market?

SCANALLOYS, as the successor of NEWVENT, is an independent trading company, which entered the international market in 2005.

What is your outlook for the bulk alloys markets in H2 2021? Do you think the newly introduced duties on Russian ferroalloy exports can have a negative impact?

We believe that the main factors influencing the change in the usual pattern of movement and development of the situation in the regional markets of ferroalloy products for the steel industry were: reduced availability of labor resources due to the continuing Covid-19 situation, collapse of container shipping logistics from South-East Asia on an international scale as a consequence of the disruption of shipping traffic in the Suez Canal.

Unfortunately, it has to be noted that due to the shortage of ferroalloy production and the sharp price hikes, there is a tendency among producers to be reluctant to conclude or even avoid all together long-term contracts, especially formula-based ones. The psychological factor among consumers is also significant, which does not correspond to the traditional way of matching supply and demand.

The temporary introduction of export duties on ferroalloy products (by EAEU countries from August 1, 2021) will once again lead to a change in market conditions and redistribution of flows between European and American consumers. As an illustrative example, changes in the conjuncture of ferroalloy suppliers in the UK due to Brexit and aggressive invasion of the local ferroalloy market by Russian ferrosilicon exempted from the EU anti-dumping duties. In this case, Russian producers will add 15% in the form of surcharge.

At the turbulent metals market circumstances, how do you manage to keep the work-life balance and what helps you to be concentrated?

In general, the development of the situation since the beginning of 2020 when pandemic restrictions began and started to cause dramatic changes in the metals market, has not introduced any critical or negative effects on our company's work. Restrictions in movement between countries and regions had the negative effect of no more face-to-face communication and negotiations. At the same time it led to concentrating on daily workflow both in the office and in the home-office. The occasional few glasses of good wine also helped to maintain a healthy work/life balance.

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