In January–July of this year, Ukrainian companies increased their consumption of rolled metal by 0.27% compared to the same period last year, reaching 2.309 million metric tons.
According to a press release issued by the “Ukrmetallurgprom” association on Friday, 1.063 million metric tons were imported during this period, accounting for 46.06% of the domestic rolled steel consumption market.
According to “Ukrmetallurgprom,” in January–July 2026, Ukrainian steel companies produced 3.322 million metric tons of rolled steel (91.7% of the figure for the same period in 2025), of which, according to the State Customs Service of Ukraine, approximately 2.076 million metric tons—or 62.5%—were exported. In January–July 2025, the share of exports was
60.2% (2.182 million metric tons out of a total rolled steel production of 3.622 million metric tons).
The share of semi-finished products in export shipments in January–July 2026 was 42.58%, which is significantly higher than the figure for the first seven months of 2025 (32.58%). The share of flat-rolled products in exports from January through July 2026 was slightly lower than in January through July 2025 (43.74% and 44.55%, respectively). The share of long products, however, is noticeably lower than in January–July 2025 (13.68% in 2026 versus 22.87% in 2025).
The structure of imports in January–July 2026 is characterized by a marked dominance of flat-rolled products over structural steel (66.59% and 26.94%, respectively); however, in January–July 2025, the dominance of flat-rolled products over long products was significantly greater (74.77% and 20.19%, respectively).
“In January–July 2026, the domestic market capacity was 2.309 million metric tons of rolled steel, of which 1.063 million metric tons, or 46.06%, consisted of imports. In January–July 2025, the domestic market capacity was 2,302,700 metric tons, of which 862,700 metric tons, or 37.46%, were imported. “Thus, in January–July 2026, the domestic market capacity increased by 0.27% compared to January–July 2025, with a simultaneous 8.58% rise in the share of imports,” the press release states.
According to the State Customs Service, the main export markets for Ukrainian rolled metal in January–July of this year were the European Union (81.9%), the rest of Europe (9.6%), and the CIS (6.5%).
Among steel importers for the first seven months of 2026, other European countries ranked first (49.8%), followed by Asian countries (25.5%), and EU-27 countries (16.0%).
As previously reported, Ukraine’s rolled metal market grew by 21.73% in 2025 compared to 2024, reaching 4 million 1.6 thousand metric tons. Imports totaled 1 million 603.6 thousand metric tons, accounting for 40.07% of domestic rolled metal consumption.
Ukraine’s rolled metal market in 2024 contracted by 6.26% compared to the previous year—to 3,288.4 thousand metric tons, while in 2023 it grew 2.19 times compared to 2022—to 3,505.6 thousand metric tons.
