In January this year, Ukrainian enterprises increased their consumption of rolled metal products by 2.16 times compared to the same period last year, up to 297.1 thousand tons.
According to a press release from Ukrmetallurgprom, 103 thousand tons, or 34.67% of the domestic rolled metal consumption market, were imported during this period.
According to Ukrmetallurgprom, in January, steelmakers produced 480.2 thousand tons of rolled steel (up 7.2% year-on-year), of which, according to the State Customs Service of Ukraine, approximately 286.1 thousand tons, or 59.6%, were exported. In January 2024, the share of exports amounted to 88.4% (400.3 thousand tons with a total production of 453 thousand tons of rolled steel).
The share of semi-finished products in export deliveries in January 2025 was 28.21%, which is half the figure for January 2024 (55.65%). The share of flat products in export deliveries in January this year significantly exceeded the same period last year – 54.35% and 33.55%, respectively. The share of long products is also significantly higher this time: 17.44% in January 2025 compared to 10.80% in the same period in 2024.
The structure of imports in January 2025 is still characterized by a significant dominance of flat products over long products (86.50% and 10.78%, respectively); in January 2024, the dominance of flat products over long products was also significant (83.90% and 15.16%, respectively).
“In January 2025, the domestic market capacity amounted to 297.1 thousand tons of rolled steel, of which 103 thousand tons, or 34.67%, were imported. In January 2024, the domestic market capacity was 137.8 thousand tons, of which 85.1 thousand tons, or 67.76%, were imported. Thus, in January 2025, there was an increase in the domestic market capacity by 115.61% compared to January 2024, while the share of the import component decreased by 27.09%,” the press release states.
According to the State Customs Service, the main export markets for Ukrainian rolled metal products in January 2025 are the European Union (69.6%), the rest of Europe (12.4%) and Africa (7.7%).
Among metallurgical importers in January 2025, the first place is occupied by other European countries (61.3%), followed by the EU-27 (24.7%), and the third – by Asian countries (13.8%).
As reported, Ukraine’s rolled steel market in 2024 decreased by 6.26% year-on-year to 3 million 288.4 thousand tons, while in 2023 it increased 2.19 times compared to 2022 to 3 million 505.6 thousand tons.
