In January-July of this year, Ukraine increased its exports of processed pig iron in physical terms by 55% compared to the same period last year, to 1 million 38.757 thousand tons from 669.982 thousand tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS) on Tuesday, during the period in question, exports of pig iron in monetary terms increased by 62% to $411.316 million.
Exports were mainly to the US (80.18% of shipments in monetary terms), Italy (10.16%), and Turkey (4.17%).
In the first seven months of the year, the country imported 29,000 tons worth $55,000 from Brazil (68.52%) and Germany (31.48%), while in January-July 2024, 15 tons of pig iron worth $35,000 were imported.
As reported, on March 12 of this year, in accordance with a decision by President Donald Trump, the US began imposing a 25% tariff on imports of Ukrainian steel products, except for pig iron.
In 2024, Ukraine reduced exports of processed pig iron in physical terms by 3.4% compared to 2023, to 1 million 290.622 thousand tons, and in monetary terms by 6.1%, to $500.341 million. Exports were mainly to the US (72.64% of shipments in monetary terms), Turkey (8.03%), and Italy (7.30%).
In 2024, the country imported 38 tons of pig iron worth $90 thousand from Germany, while in the same period of 2023, it imported 154 tons of pig iron worth $156 thousand.
In January-July of this year, Ukraine reduced exports of titanium-containing ores and concentrates in physical terms by 93.6% compared to the same period last year, to 277 tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS) on Tuesday, in monetary terms, exports of titanium-containing ores and concentrates decreased by 93.1% to $496 thousand.
The main exports were to Uzbekistan (35.61% of shipments in monetary terms), Turkey (35.01%), and Egypt (29.38%).
In addition, Ukraine imported 24 tons of titanium-containing ores worth $39 thousand from China (94.87%, deliveries took place in January) and Uzbekistan (5.13%, deliveries took place in May) in the first seven months of 2025.
In addition, in the first seven months of 2025, Ukraine exported 2,466 tons of niobium, tantalum, vanadium, and zirconium ores and concentrates worth $3.954 million to Spain (48.90%), Germany (24.53%), and Italy (17.19%). At the same time, the country imported 294 tons of such ores worth $774 thousand from Spain (67.35%), China (17.16%), and the Czech Republic (12.13%).
As reported, in 2024, Ukraine reduced exports of titanium-containing ores in physical terms by 37.5% compared to the previous year, to 7,284 thousand tons. In monetary terms, exports of titanium-containing ores and concentrates decreased by 40% to $11.654 million. The main exports were to Turkey (62.82% of shipments in monetary terms), Egypt (7.38%), and Poland (6.93%).
Last year, Ukraine imported 314 tons of titanium-containing ore worth $492 thousand from China (87.78%), Vietnam (6.11%), and Senegal (also 6.11%).
At the same time, experts pointed to discrepancies in statistics on exports of titanium-containing ores. However, in response to a request from Interfax-Ukraine, the State Customs Service (DMS) of Ukraine stated that complete data on exports of titanium raw materials is not provided due to restrictions on the volume of export and import operations with military and dual-use goods, which are reflected in aggregate form under “Other goods.”
They explained that, in particular, deliveries of titanium-containing ores from companies differ from the SCS data.
“We would like to inform you that these deliveries are included in the statistical exports from Ukraine, but are not reflected in the foreign trade statistics published by the State Customs Service (…) under the UKTZED commodity code 2614 ”Titanium ores and concentrates” due to the following (…) In accordance with the provisions (…), when protecting data for confidentiality purposes, any information considered confidential shall be reported in full at the next higher level of product data aggregation,” the State Customs Service explained in its response to the agency.
It was clarified that information on customs clearance and movement across the customs border of Ukraine of goods subject to export control is included in the list of information containing official information in the State Customs Service, in accordance with the relevant order.
In Ukraine, titanium-containing ores are currently mined mainly by PJSC United Mining and Chemical Company (UMCC), which manages the Vilnohirsk Mining and Metallurgical Plant (VGMK, Dnipropetrovsk region) and the Irshansk Mining and Processing Plant (IGZK, Zhytomyr region), as well as LLC Mezhyrichensky GZK and LLC Valky-Ilmenit (both LLCs are located in Irshansk, Zhytomyr region). In addition, the production and commercial firm Velta (Dnipro) built a mining and processing plant at the Birzulivskoye deposit with a capacity of 240,000 tons of ilmenite concentrate per year.
Forest fires have engulfed Montenegro, coming close to resort areas and populated areas.
Among those affected is the Cana area, where the flames came within 50 meters of a hotel, forcing families to evacuate their homes in Gornji Rogami. Media reports indicate power outages in several towns.
Serbia quickly sent a Ka-32 helicopter from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and a team of seven people, including six air crew members and one emergency service representative. The aircraft arrived in less than two hours and began fighting the fire north of Podgorica.
Fires in Montenegro remain active, with the region battling the threat of the flames spreading.
According to MONSTAT, in 2024, tourists from Serbia accounted for 23.5% of all foreign overnight stays, making them the largest group of visitors to Montenegro.
According to other data, in 2024, Serbian tourists accounted for 859,932 overnight stays (about 860,000) from January to September, confirming their status as Montenegro’s leading tourist audience.
Ukrposhta JSC (Kiev) on August 12 announced a tender for compulsory civil liability insurance for owners of motor vehicles (CMTPL).
According to the electronic public procurement system Prozorro, the expected cost of the service is UAH 3.369mn. Documents are accepted until August 20.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) on August 11 announced its intention to conclude a contract with IC “VUSO” (Kiev) for medical insurance of employees, according to the electronic procurement system Prozorro. At the expected cost of purchasing the service of UAH 106.912 mln, the company’s price offer amounted to UAH 100.392 mln.
The tender was also attended by IC “Kraina” – UAH 98.896 mln. The offer of which was rejected because the participant of the procurement procedure indicated in the tender offer unreliable information, which is essential for determining the results of open bidding, which was revealed by the customer.
In addition, the participants of the tender were IC Universalna – UAH 100.450 mln, INGO – UAH 100.480 mln.
As reported, the winner of the tender for VHI of NBU employees in 2023 and 2024 was IC “Universalna”, in 2020 – IC “Kraina”.
IC “VUSO” was founded in 2001. It is a member of MTSBU and NASU, a participant of the agreement on direct settlement of losses and a member of the Nuclear Insurance Pool.
As it was informed, JSC “Oschadbank” on July 29, 2025 announced its intention to conclude with IC “VUSO” the contract of voluntary medical insurance of employees. The offer of the company, the only participant of the tender amounted to UAH 134,285 mln against UAH 134,3 mln expected cost.
