The SARS-CoV-2 virus outbreak has created turmoil in domestic economies around the world. The changes are visible in all industrial branches of the economy, including the market of metallic raw materials. The article reviews and analyzes the size of changes in the production and sales of copper and copper products in Poland in 2020, comparing the data in the previous years. The aim of the article is to assess the possible impact of the epidemic and related economic changes on the copper market in Poland

Lis, T.

Łakomy, K.

English

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838  METALURGIJA 61 (2022) 3-4, 838-840K. ŁAKOMY, T. LISCOPPER PRODUCTION AND TRADE IN POLAND DURING THE COVID-19 EPIDEMICReceived – Primljeno: 2021-12-17Accepted – Prihvaćeno: 2022-03-10Preliminary Note – Prethodno priopćenjeThe SARS-CoV-2 virus outbreak has created turmoil in domestic economies around the world. The changes are vis-ible in all industrial branches of the economy, including the market of metallic raw materials. The article reviews and analyzes the size of changes in the production and sales of copper and copper products in Poland in 2020, compar-ing the data in the previous years. The aim of the article is to assess the possible impact of the epidemic and related economic changes on the copper market in Poland.Key words: copper, industry, COVID-19, PolandISSN 0543-5846METABK 61(3-4) 838-840 (2022)UDC – UDK 669.3:669.015:669.988:438 = 111INTRODUCTION2020 was exceptionally difficult for the societies and economies of many countries around the world [1]. Based on Eurostat data, it is known that the average economic growth rate was negative. In the European Union countries, GDP decreases reaching even 14 % (II term 2020) [2].PRODUCTION OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS - COPPER IN POLANDThere are over 14 000 deposits of various minerals in Poland, and the obtained raw materials are divided into energy, rock, chemical and metallic. One of the most important metals in the raw material markets is copper [5]. Copper resources in Poland and in the world are estimated to be large, and the exploitation of this raw material is at a stable level [6].The quantity of copper and copper products pro-duced in Poland in 2015-2020 was analyzed. Particular attention was paid to the year 2020, when the pandemic began in Poland. Table 1 presents the amount of pro-duced convent copper from primary raw materials, blis-ter copper from secondary raw materials and unwrought, unalloyed refined copper. Based on the data, there is a noticeable increase in copper production from second-ary raw materials by 34 % compared to 2019. In turn, copper production from primary raw materials de-creased in 2020 by 5,6 %, and refined copper by 3,5 %.K. Łakomy: karolina.lakomy@polsl.pl – Silesian University of Tech-nology, Faculty of Materials Science, Katowice, PolandT. Lis: teresa.lis@polsl.pl – Silesian University of Technology, Faculty of Materials Science, Katowice, PolandFigure 1 GDP in Poland (2019 – 2020)In Poland, in the same period, the economy saw a decline in 8,3 % of GDP, as shown in Figure 1 [3]. De-spite such unfavorable macroeconomic data, Poland was included among the countries whose economy did not suffer large financial and production losses, com-pared to other countries. This economic crisis resulted from the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The world health organization officially announced pandemics in March 2020, the first cases of the disease also appeared in Poland this month [4].Table 1  Production of selected copper products  in 2015-20202015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020toneConverter copper from primary raw materials514 774446 902457 549461 865489 242462 868Converter copper from recyclable materials67 62460 36953 02450 00151 90469 696Rened copper, un-wrought, unalloyed589 023550 727538 026520 004582 198562 006The production of ore and copper concentrates in Poland is shown in Figure 2. In 2020, production was the lowest in 9 years, but a downward trend since 2016 is clearly visible. Last year, a total of 32 928 tons of ore and concentrates were produced in Poland.839. A OMY et al.: OPPER PRODU TION AND TRADE IN POLAND DURING T E O ID 1  EPIDEMIMETALURGIJA 61 (2022) 3-4, 838-840Table 2 summarizes the productions of other select-ed copper products. In 2020, production drops ranging from 0,92 % to 14,92 % were recorded. The most visi-ble decline is the production of bare conductors: twisted pair, stranded wires, ropes, copper cables; not electri-cally insulated.cobalt, copper, iron ore, lead, molybdenum and nickel increased by 5,6 % [7].The fluctuations in the price of copper on the global stock exchange were analyzed. Figure 3 shows the pric-es at the opening and closing of the stock exchange on a monthly basis for 2020. The decline in price is clearly visible at the end of the first and the beginning of the second quarter - this was the time when the global pan-demic began. The lowest price for which a ton of copper was sold was $ 4 805, and this price increased by over 160 % at the end of the year.Figure 2  Production of copper ore and concentrate in Poland (2010 – 2020)Table 2  Production of selected copper products  in 2019-20202019 2020toneCathodes and cathode parts of rened copper565 588 560 364Wire of copper and its alloys 308 762 296 970Bare conductors: Stranded wire, stranded wire, ropes, copper cables, electrically insulated48 199 41 009Flat bars, rods, sections and wire rod, of copper and its alloys23 389 23 110Materials management was also analyzed using the example of unwrought refined copper. The amount of produced raw material slightly decreased, by 3,4 % compared to the record year 2019 (Table 3). Due to the difficult production situation caused by the epidemic - shortages in production, 250 % more refined copper was imported last year. During the epidemic, raw mate-rial stocks decreased by 7 458 tons.Table 3  Materials management based on the example  of refined, unwrought, unalloyed copper, part 1  2017 2018 2019 2020toneIncome (generally) 546 543 523 601 588 840 586 215Production 538 026 520 004 582 198 562 006Imports 4 438 3 597 6 642 16 751Decrease in stocks 4 079 — — 7 458COPPER TRADEOverall, commodity prices fell by almost 10 % in 2020, but the prices of basic metals such as aluminum, Figure 3 Copper prices on the stock exchange in 2020In Poland, sales of metal products (in general) in-creased in 2020 by 4 % compared to 2019. Figure 4 shows an upward trend, lasting 10 years. On the other hand, the sale of metals has not been so stable over the years, and last year it fell by as much as 10,54 % com-pared to the previous year.Figure 4 Sold production (2010 – 2020)Material economy can also be characterized by ex-penditure. Table 4 shows the general use of the raw ma-terial, based on the example already mentioned in the article, unwrought refined copper. The domestic con-sumption of the raw material decreased slightly in 2020, but an increase in copper export by 1,54 % is noted. Stocks have not been increased.840  METALURGIJA 61 (2022) 3-4, 838-840. A OMY et al.: OPPER PRODU TION AND TRADE IN POLAND DURING T E O ID 1  EPIDEMIThe values of the production sold were compared for the more hot-melt copper products (Table 5). De-spite the reduced production, the profit from the sale of faced copper is higher in 2020 by as much as 11,24 %. More was also made on pipe fittings (27,64 %), copper foil (8,17 %) and refined copper alloys. 2020 was un-favorable for the sale of copper sheets and its alloys (-7,65 %) and copper pipes (- 27,64 %).CONCLUSIONSBased on the analysis, it was found that the economic crisis caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus epidemic did not affect the production and trade of copper and copper prod-ucts in Poland. There are no drastic changes on the mar-ket. Clearly declining trends in the production of copper and its ores have been recorded from previous years. The sales value (in total) of the most important copper prod-ucts in 2020 is higher than in 2019, which is related to the increase in raw material prices on commercial markets.AcknowledgeSilesian University of Technology (Faculty of Ma-terials Engineering), supported this work as a part of Statutory Research BKM565/RM1/2021 (11/010/BKM21/0035)REFERENCES[1] P. Halmai, COVID-crisis and economic growth: Tendencies on potential growth in the European Union, Acta Oeconomi-ca 71 (2021), 165-186[2] European Statistical Office - www.eurostat.com[3] Central Statistical Office in Poland - www.gus.pl[4] E Stepien, M Kolesnik, (...) M. Polz-Dacewicz, SARS-CoV-2 Infection Prevalence in the Population of South-Eastern Po-land, Diagnostics 11 (2021) 11, 2115[5] S. Oszczepalski, S. Speczik, (...) A. Chmielewski, Prospec-tive copper resources in Poland, Gospodarka Surowcami Mineralnymi - Mineral Resources Management 32 (2016) 2, 5-30[6] DA. Singer, Future copper resources, Ore Geology Reviews 86 (2017), 271-279[7] International Monetary Fund - www.imf.orgTable 4  Materials management based on the example  of refined unwrought, unalloyed copper, part 22017 2018 2019 2020toneUse (generally) 546 543 523 601 588 840 586 215Domestic consumption 294 797 312 465 296 094 294 451Exports 251 746 209 703 287 337 291 764Increase in stocks — 1 433 5 409 —Table 5  Value of sold production of selected copper products in 2019 - 20202019 2020in PLNin USDRened, unwrought, unalloyed copper6 862 794 600 7 634 341 1001 666 454 907 1 853 805 327Rened copper alloys, unwrought 49 656 200 52 338 40012 057 743 12 709 047Thick sheets, thin sheets and strips made of copper and copper alloys91 405 900 84 416 20022 195 595 20 498 324Copper foil 203 300 219 90049 366 53 397Copper tubes and pipes 319 495 000 266 852 60077 581 224 64 798 358Tube or pipe ttings of copper or copper alloys294 168 200 375 474 30071 431 256 91 174 372Note: K. Łakomy is responsible for English language

Copper production and trade in Poland during the COVID-19 epidemic

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