We are closely monitoring the availability of steel and other components that are being affected by the war in Ukraine.
A number of steel producers in Ukraine - including ArcelorMittal SA and Metinvest Holding LLC - have been forced to idle their plants due to the war.
Update 21/3/21: One of Europe's biggest iron and steel works, Azovstal, has been badly damaged as Russian forces lay siege to the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, according to reports.
Thick columns of grey and black smoke have been seen rising from the buildings.
Azovstal is part of the Metinvest group, which is controlled by Ukraine's richest man, Rinat Akhmetov.
Considered pro-Moscow before the war began, Akhmetov has since accused Russian troops of committing "crimes against humanity against Ukrainians"
The nation is normally among the top five exporters of steel into the European Union, and disruption to its supplies will tighten the already strained market there.
It has been reported that 28 thousand million tonnes of steel will be lost from the market each year, as a result of the conflict.
Some steel used in our production has previously originated from Ukraine, although Baumann does not routinely source steel from the region.
We are confident that supplies from India and China will be increased to lessen the effect but the knock-on effect on prices in the wider market for the time being is expected to be high.
European steel manufacturing costs are also increasing, exacerbated by rising energy costs.
Bloomberg reported that steel prices in Europe soared last week as the Russia-Ukraine conflict threatened exports from the two major producing nations.
Benchmark prices surged 22% last week to 1,160 euros ($1,257) a ton, the highest since August. Steel is one of several raw materials booming as the war jeopardizes supplies from the two commodity producing heavyweights.
Russian steel firms are facing their own difficulties exporting to the bloc. Severstal PJSC suspended sales to Europe, its biggest export market, after billionaire owner Alexei Mordashov was sanctioned by Western nations, along with other tycoons in the country.
Higher prices for the metal, says Bloomberg, will cause more pain for manufacturers and construction firms, who endured a rally to record levels last year. The market could get even tighter if rising energy prices cause further production curtailments by European steelmakers.
The impact of the conflict is also expected to be felt in the food sector.
Russia and Ukraine are also some of the biggest producers in agriculture and food globally. Russia produces enormous amounts of nutrients, like potash and phosphate - key ingredients in fertilisers, which enable plants and crops to grow.
In the meantime, all Baumann trading with Russia has, of course, ceased.
We echo the calls from those wishing for an immediate end to hostilities and our thoughts are with the Ukrainian people and those suffering from the terrible conflict.
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