In January–June of this year, Ukraine reduced its imports of aluminum ores and concentrates (bauxite) by 47.1% in volume terms compared to the same period last year—down to 7,198 thousand metric tons from 13,606 thousand metric tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), bauxite imports in monetary terms decreased to $1.402 million from $1.569 million in January–June 2026.
Imports came from China (65.62% of shipments in monetary terms) and Turkey (34.38%).
In addition, Ukraine shipped 45 metric tons of bauxite worth $10,000 to Poland in May, while Ukraine did not re-export any bauxite in 2025.
As previously reported, in 2025, Ukraine increased its imports of aluminum ores and concentrates by 23.7% in volume compared to the previous year—to 43.5 thousand metric tons—and by 15.8% in value, to $4.754 million. These imports came primarily from Turkey (81.84% of shipments in monetary terms), China (15.97%), and Guyana (2.19%).
Ukraine did not re-export bauxite in 2025, just as it did not in 2024 and 2023.
In 2024, Ukraine increased its imports of bauxite by 77.4% in volume terms compared to 2023—to 35,173 thousand metric tons—and by 74% in value terms—to $4.107 million. Imports came primarily from Turkey (78.48% of shipments in monetary terms), China (19.48%), and Spain (1.9%).
Bauxite is an aluminum ore used as a raw material for producing alumina, which is then used to produce aluminum. They are also used as fluxes in ferrous metallurgy.
Bauxite is imported into Ukraine, in particular, by the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant (MGP), which is currently idle.
In January–June of this year, Ukraine’s mining companies reduced their exports of iron ore raw materials (IORM) by 25.4% in volume terms compared to the same period last year—down to 12 million 33.825 thousand metric tons from 16 million 137.809 thousand metric tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), 2,021,299 metric tons of iron ore were exported in June, 2,239,167 metric tons in May, 2,163,837 metric tons in April, in March—2,300,467 thousand metric tons, in February—1,254,516 thousand metric tons, and in January—2,054,539 thousand metric tons.
During the first six months of the year, foreign exchange earnings from raw material exports decreased by 26.3% to $935.258 million.
Mineral resources were exported primarily to China (42.36% of shipments in monetary terms), Slovakia (18.50%), and Poland (14.13%).
In addition, in January–June 2026, Ukraine imported 224 metric tons of raw materials worth $62,000 from the Netherlands (38.71%), Poland (32.26%), and Italy (29.03%), whereas in January–June 2025, it imported 75,000 metric tons worth $52,000.
As previously reported, Ukraine’s mining companies reduced ore exports in physical terms by 8% in 2025 compared to the previous year—to 30,995,363 metric tons from 33,699,722 metric tons, and foreign exchange revenue decreased by 16.6%—to $2 billion 337.765 million from $2 billion 803.223 million. Exports were primarily shipped to China (44.98% of shipments by value), Slovakia (17.15%), and Poland (16.09%).
In addition, in 2025, Ukraine imported 130 metric tons of raw materials worth $95 thousand from the Netherlands (46.32%), Italy (36.84%), and Norway (13.68%), whereas the previous year it imported 2,042 thousand metric tons worth $414 thousand
China’s exports rose by 27% year-on-year in June to $412.39 billion, while imports increased by 36% to $286.76 billion, according to data from the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China.
Export growth was the highest since the beginning of the current year, while import growth was the highest since June 2021. In both cases, an all-time record in terms of volume was recorded. Experts Club also notes that the June figures exceeded market expectations: analysts had on average forecast export growth of 18.2% and import growth of 24%.
China’s foreign trade surplus amounted to $125.6 billion in June, compared with $113.9 billion in the same period of 2025.
China’s exports to Japan rose by 6.9% last month, to South Korea by 42.6%, to the United States by 13.9%, to Australia by 29.8%, to ASEAN countries by 34.6%, and to European Union countries by 18.5%.
Imports from Japan increased by 33.9%, from South Korea by 85%, from Australia by 65.8%, from ASEAN by 26.8%, from the EU by 9.2%, and from the United States by 25.9%.
According to Chinese customs statistics, trade turnover between China and Russia increased by 25.6% in the first half of 2026 to $134.175 billion. Chinese exports to Russia rose by 28.4% to $60.597 billion, while imports from Russia increased by 23.3% to $73.578 billion. In June, trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $24.351 billion, including Chinese exports to Russia of $11.432 billion and imports from Russia of $12.919 billion.
The Chinese side publishes trade data broken down by countries and regions in the statistical tables of the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China, while the information database of China’s Ministry of Commerce indicates that the source of these data is Chinese customs.
Data on Ukraine were not separately highlighted among the largest destinations in the operational Chinese press release. At the same time, according to the State Customs Service of Ukraine, China remains the largest source of Ukrainian imports: in January–June 2026, Ukraine imported goods worth $13.9 billion from China. The largest markets for Ukrainian exports during this period were Poland, Türkiye and Italy.
In the first half of 2026, China’s foreign trade surplus amounted to $575.98 billion, compared with $586 billion a year earlier. Exports rose by 17.6% to $2.12 trillion, while imports increased by 26.6% to $1.55 trillion.
By commodity category, China increased coal imports by 29% and natural gas imports by 3.7% in June, while oil imports fell by 41.3% to their lowest level in almost a decade. China also increased overseas purchases of soybeans by 10.5%, iron ore by 6.4%, and steel by 6.6%.
Reuters attributes the strong performance of China’s foreign trade to high demand for products related to artificial intelligence, semiconductors and computing equipment. At the same time, the agency notes that exports remain an important source of support for the Chinese economy amid weak domestic demand and problems in the real estate sector.
The European Union is preparing a support mechanism for companies that would allow them to avoid relying solely on China for supplies of essential goods and would also mitigate the impact of Beijing’s measures in the event of a trade conflict, Bloomberg reported Saturday, citing sources.
“According to people familiar with the matter, this working tool will not come cheap and will require funding, while EU members are haggling over the long-term budget,” the agency reported.
However, the amount of funding needed, as well as the scale of China’s retaliatory measures in the event of a conflict, remain uncertain.
The mechanism being developed by the European Commission is intended to be part of the EU’s efforts to mitigate the effects of a significant trade deficit with China, which stands at 360 billion euros and affects all EU member states.
At the same time, the EU’s strategy for restructuring trade relations with China also calls for negotiations, diversification of supply chains, and more effective use of existing measures to support domestic producers. The European Commission also emphasized that none of the protective measures are directed exclusively against China.
The parties have set October 2026 as the deadline for reaching an agreement. In October, European Commissioner for Trade Maroš Šefčovič is scheduled to travel to China ahead of the EU summit in Brussels.
Bloomberg notes that Beijing controls the supply of mineral raw materials and microchips, which are critical to key sectors of European industry, including the defense and automotive sectors.
The volume of imports of transformers, inductors, and chokes into Ukraine in January–May 2026 increased by 89% compared to the same period in 2025—reaching $738.9 million, according to statistics from the State Customs Service.
According to the published data, imports of these products in May rose by 45.8% compared to May of last year but fell by nearly half compared to April of this year, reaching $76.9 million.
Thus, the growth rate of imports has begun to slow compared to the same period last year, and the decline in imports relative to the previous month of 2026 is accelerating; specifically, in April of this year, the decline was 34% compared to March 2026.
As previously reported, in March of this year, the Cabinet of Ministers removed transformers from the list of goods eligible for preferential import under agreements with the EU Secretariat.
At the same time, in May, the European Business Association, in an official letter to First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, called for the introduction of a temporary exemption from import duties and VAT for certain types of power transformers.
According to the State Customs Service, China remains the largest supplier of these products to Ukraine. Over the past five months, $665.6 million worth of these goods were imported (90% of total imports of these goods), whereas a year earlier, $321.5 million worth of transformers and chokes were imported from China (82.3%).
In addition, transformers were imported from Turkey (2%) and Germany (1.3%), whereas last year the share of imports from Germany was nearly 5%, and from Turkey—3.7%.
According to the State Customs Service, Ukraine exported transformers, inductors, and chokes worth nearly $16 million in January–May (compared to $10.9 million last year), primarily to Germany, Poland, and Hungary.
As reported with reference to the State Customs Service, in 2025, Ukraine’s imports of transformers, inductors, and chokes increased by 88% compared to 2024, reaching $1.12 billion. Imports from China alone were 2.3 times higher, totaling $957.3 million.
China’s foreign exchange reserves, the largest in the world, rose by $31.7 billion (0.9%) in May compared to the previous month, reaching $3.442 trillion—the highest level since October 2015, according to a statement from the People’s Bank of China. The yuan appreciated by 0.95% against the U.S. dollar last month, while the U.S. dollar appreciated by 0.85% against a basket of major world currencies.
Gold reserves stood at 74.96 million ounces at the end of May, compared to 74.64 million ounces a month earlier. The Chinese central bank has been buying the precious metal for the nineteenth consecutive month.
In value terms, gold reserves decreased to $340.75 billion from $344.17 billion at the end of April.
