Pharmaceutical products, medical goods and equipment in Ukraine cost an average of 2.9% less in July 2026 than a year earlier, while outpatient medical services increased in price by 13.3%, according to data from the State Statistics Service.
Overall, the healthcare category rose in price by only 2.2% over the year, significantly slower than the general consumer inflation rate of 7.7%. Prices in this group increased by 0.6% in July.
Pharmaceutical products, medical goods and equipment became 0.9% cheaper from the beginning of 2026. In July, however, this category rose in price by 0.6% compared with June.
Outpatient services, by contrast, increased in price by 0.8% over the month, by 8.3% from the beginning of the year and by 13.3% year-on-year. On average, they cost 13.6% more in January–July than during the same period of 2025.
Thus, a noticeable gap can be observed within the medical segment between the price dynamics of medical goods and those of services themselves.
The premiere of the Ukrainian short film Another Day in the Metal Box, directed by Hlib Feldman, took place on 9 August at the 79th Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland.
The film was included in the Pardi di Domani — Concorso Internazionale international competition, according to the official programme of the Locarno Film Festival. The film was produced in Ukraine in 2026 and has a running time of 18 minutes.
According to the Embassy of Ukraine in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, the story takes viewers to Ukraine in 2008 and tells the personal story of an ordinary person faced with a difficult choice. A representative of the Ukrainian embassy attended the festival screening and met with the film’s creative team.
The Locarno Film Festival is one of Europe’s largest international film festivals. Its Pardi di Domani programme focuses on short films and works by emerging filmmakers from around the world. Another Day in the Metal Box was presented in the international competition of this section.
ANOTHER DAY IN THE METAL BOX, HLIB FELDMAN, LOCARNO FILM FESTIVAL, Ukrainian cinema
In January–July 2026, Ukraine imported approximately 10.9 thousand metric tons of manganese ore, whereas there were no imports of this product during the same period last year.
According to data from the State Customs Service, virtually the entire volume of shipments came from Ghana—10,896 metric tons worth $1.677 million. An additional 5 metric tons, worth $3,000, were imported from China.
Thus, Ghana accounted for 99.82% of the value of Ukraine’s manganese ore imports in January–July.
The resumption of imports coincides with the recovery of foreign trade in manganese ore overall. Over the seven-month period, Ukraine exported 24,647 metric tons of such products worth $4.227 million.
The average estimated price of exported ore was approximately $171 per metric ton, while that of ore imported from Ghana was approximately $154 per metric ton. These figures are estimates based on customs value and physical shipment volumes and do not reflect differences in the quality and characteristics of the raw material.
Manganese ore imports into Ukraine have fluctuated significantly in recent years. In 2024, the country imported 84,293 thousand metric tons worth $18.302 million.
In 2025, imports fell to 37,006 thousand metric tons, valued at $5.546 million. Notably, the entire volume was shipped from Ghana in November alone, while imports were virtually nonexistent from January through October.
The resumption of shipments as early as the first half of 2026 may indicate growing demand for raw materials in the ferroalloy industry amid a gradual recovery in production.
The main consumers of manganese ore in Ukraine are enterprises in the ferroalloy industry. The Nikopol and Zaporizhzhia Ferroalloy Plants halted smelting after Ukrainian mining companies ceased extraction of raw manganese ore in the fall of 2023; however, ferroalloy production was partially resumed in the summer of 2024.
Ukraine’s revenue from ferrous metal exports in July 2026 totaled $199.9 million, down approximately 31.9% from June’s $293.6 million, according to the Experts Club Information and Analytical Center.
This calculation is based on data from the State Customs Service of Ukraine.
The July dynamics significantly worsened the industry’s results for the seven-month period. Overall, in January–July, foreign currency revenue from exports of ferrous metals decreased by 7.6% year-on-year to $1.678 billion.
At the same time, Ukraine imported $176.4 million worth of ferrous metals in July. Thus, the monthly gap between exports and imports of these products narrowed to approximately $23.5 million.
Exports of metal products generated another $71.4 million in July, while imports of these products amounted to $106.3 million. Consequently, imports of metal products directly exceeded exports by almost $35 million in July.
In total, exports of ferrous metals and metal products amounted to approximately $271.3 million in July, while imports reached around $282.6 million.
Thus, if these two groups are considered together, Ukraine effectively recorded a small negative trade balance of approximately $11 million in July, although the balance for the entire seven-month period remains positive so far.
For comparison, in 2025 Ukraine received $3.339 billion from exports of ferrous metals and $916.2 million from exports of metal products.
The sharp decline in July requires further monitoring: data for a single month alone do not yet make it possible to determine whether this marks the beginning of a sustained deterioration in export conditions or a short-term fluctuation in supplies.
Ukraine’s trade surplus in ferrous metals and products made from them in January–July 2026 fell by approximately 40% compared to the same period last year—to approximately $465 million.
The calculation is based on data from the State Customs Service of Ukraine.
Over the first seven months, Ukraine exported $1.678 billion worth of ferrous metals and an additional $507.5 million worth of metal products. Total export revenue for these two groups amounted to approximately $2.185 billion.
At the same time, imports of ferrous metals reached $1.023 billion, while imports of ferrous metal products amounted to $697.6 million. Thus, total imports amounted to approximately $1.720 billion.
The difference between exports and imports narrowed to approximately $465 million.
For comparison: based on the annual trends published by the State Customs Service, in January–July 2025, total exports of these two commodity groups amounted to approximately $2.385 billion, imports to approximately $1.612 billion, and the trade surplus to approximately $773 million.
Thus, the annual trade surplus decreased by approximately $308 million, or nearly 40%.
The main reason for this decline is the opposing trends in export and import flows. Total exports of ferrous metals and metal products over the seven-month period decreased by approximately 8.4%, while imports of these goods increased by approximately 6.7%.
The imbalance is particularly noticeable in the metal products segment: exports here totaled $507.5 million, while imports amounted to $697.6 million, resulting in a trade deficit of about $190 million.
Ferrous metals are currently offsetting this deficit: their exports exceed imports by approximately $655 million. However, at the same time, foreign exchange proceeds from their exports fell by 7.6%, while imports rose by 7.2%.
This trend indicates a noticeable decrease in the positive contribution of metallurgical products to Ukraine’s foreign trade balance in 2026.
Pokrovsky Mining and Processing Plant (Pokrovsky GOK, Dnipropetrovsk region) plans to increase manganese concentrate production 3.44-fold in 2026 compared with the previous year, to 220,000 tonnes.
In 2025, the enterprise produced 63,900 tonnes of manganese concentrate worth UAH 342.138 million and sold 25,400 tonnes of products for UAH 216.309 million.
The plans for a sharp increase in output coincide with a significant recovery in Ukrainian exports of manganese raw materials. In January–July 2026, Ukraine exported 24,647 tonnes of manganese ores, more than eight times the figure for the same period of 2025 and already exceeding the volume of supplies for the whole of last year.
Foreign currency revenue from exports reached $4.227 million over the seven months, compared with $491,000 a year earlier. Slovakia and Georgia became the main markets.
The Pokrovsky and Marganets mining and processing plants, which are part of the Privat Group, stopped mining and processing raw manganese ore in late October and early November 2023 amid military and energy risks for the industry.
In 2024, both enterprises produced virtually no marketable products. For comparison, in 2023, Pokrovsky GOK produced 160,310 tonnes of manganese concentrate, while Marganets GOK was already idle at that time.
Simultaneously with the shutdown of the mining and processing plants, the main consumers of manganese raw materials—the Nikopol and Zaporizhia ferroalloy plants—also suspended production. In the summer of 2024, the ferroalloy enterprises began resuming output.
In 2026, Ukraine is also once again increasing imports of manganese ore. Over the seven months, approximately 10,900 tonnes were imported, almost entirely from Ghana, whereas no supplies were recorded during the same period a year earlier.
Thus, the current dynamics indicate a gradual recovery of the entire manganese industry chain—from mining and concentrate production to foreign trade and the consumption of raw materials by ferroalloy enterprises.
Pokrovsky GOK and Marganets GOK are Ukraine’s main enterprises engaged in the mining and processing of manganese ore. Manganese concentrate is used primarily to produce ferroalloys required by the metallurgical industry.
