The New Year has begun with a positive buzz in the Middle East steel industry, with demand for the metal picking up and industry experts and analysts projecting a 15 per cent growth on the back of rising requirements from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. According to a survey conducted among the exhibitors at the just-concluded SteelFab trade fair at Expo Centre Sharjah, 50 per cent of the respondents expected the sector to grow 15 percent in 2012, while 42 per cent projected a 10 per cent and the rest a 25 per cent expansion. With the regional economies, especially oil producers, set to consolidate their growth in 2012, exhibitors who took part in the survey believe that demand for steel will arise from the expected buoyancy of infrastructure, oil & gas and construction sectors. “Steel is the basic raw material used in various sectors from infrastructure to heavy industries and from construction to white goods. Demand and price movement of steel can predict the condition of the overall economy. The positive outlook projected by the exhibitors at SteelFab augurs well for the greater economic growth of the region,” said Mr Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, Director-General of Expo Centre Sharjah. SteelFab 2012 was held at Expo Centre Sharjah from January 9-12, 2012, and attracted about 7,000 trade visitors, registering nearly 22 percent growth over its past show. Steel demand in the UAE has soared in the past few years in the backdrop of continuing infrastructure projects, cheap and reliable gas and energy supply, growing investments in the construction industry and other core sectors.
