Mexican steelmakers will produce steel to feed the demand for government projects, amid the COVID-19 related shutdown imposed by the Mexican government.
On Wednesday, the Mexican federal government amended a decree issued earlier this week, which required all non-essential businesses, including mining and steel, to suspend activities until April 30, 2020.
The revision allows steelmakers as well cement and glass companies to maintain minimum activity to avoid irreversible effects on their operation, the economy ministry said in a resolution published in the country’s official gazette.
Steelmakers will be able to produce steel exclusively for the Dos Bocas refinery project, the Mayan Train—an ambitious project to build a railway through five southeastern states, the International Airport Felipe Ángeles (AIFA) in Zumpango in the state of Mexico, and the the Trans-isthmus Corridor, which aims to connect the Pacific with the Atlantic through a channel located in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
Steelmakers will also continue to provide material for existing contracts considered essential for Mexico’s oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) and the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE). These measures will also apply for companies that produce coal for CFE, the ministry announced.
Mexico’s crude steel production fell to 1.37mn mt in January, from 1.63mn mt recorded in the same month of 2019.