Business news from Ukraine

In January–September 2026, Ukraine imported 34,270 metric tons of manganese ore worth $5.309 million, whereas during the same period in 2025, there were no imports of this raw material, according to statistics from the State Customs Service.

In the first nine months of this year, the physical volume of imports has already reached 92.6% of the total for all of 2025. Last year, Ukraine purchased 37,006 thousand metric tons of manganese ore abroad for $5.546 million, with all shipments taking place in November.

Imports in 2026 picked up significantly in August and September. While Ukraine imported approximately 10,900 metric tons of ore over the first seven months, imports rose to 23,099 metric tons over eight months and to 34,270 metric tons over nine months.

Thus, in September alone, the country imported 11,171 metric tons of manganese ore with an estimated value of $1.731 million. In August, imports totaled approximately 12,198 metric tons, meaning they declined by about 8.4% in September.

Ghana was the main supplier of manganese ore to Ukraine in 2025. In January–July 2026, it also accounted for virtually the entire volume of imports: 10,896 thousand metric tons worth $1.677 million. Another approximately 5 metric tons worth $3 thousand were imported from China. The geography of shipments for the full nine months requires clarification based on detailed customs statistics.

At the same time, Ukraine is increasing its own exports of manganese ore. In January–September 2026, 36,598 thousand metric tons of ore worth $6,393 million were shipped abroad.

Thus, the physical volume of exports over the nine-month period exceeded imports by only 2,328 thousand metric tons, and the trade surplus for this commodity group amounted to approximately $1,084 million.

The estimated average customs value of imported manganese ore was about $155 per metric ton, while that of exported ore was $175 per metric ton. However, without information on the chemical composition and quality of the raw materials, these figures cannot be used for a direct comparison of market prices.

The increase in imports is occurring as some Ukrainian ferroalloy plants resume operations following a production shutdown in 2023.

The Nikopol and Zaporizhzhia ferroalloy plants suspended ferroalloy smelting at the end of 2023 following the cessation of manganese ore mining at the Pokrovsk and Marganets mining and processing complexes. In the summer of 2024, the ferroalloy plants partially resumed production.

Manganese ore is the primary raw material for the production of ferromanganese and silicomanganese, which are used in ferrous metallurgy for deoxidizing and alloying steel. At the same time, foreign trade statistics alone do not allow us to determine what proportion of the imported ore was actually processed by Ukrainian enterprises.