In January-November this year, Ukrainian mining companies increased exports of iron ore by 87.4% in physical terms compared to the same period last year, to 30 million 250,394 thousand tons.
According to the statistics released by the State Customs Service on Monday, foreign exchange earnings from iron ore exports increased by 55.8% to $2 billion 530.162 million during this period.
Exports of iron ore were carried out mainly to China (34.61% of supplies in monetary terms), Poland (17.68%) and Slovakia (17.07%).
In January-November 2024, Ukraine imported iron ore for $409 thousand in a total volume of 2.031 thousand tons, while in January-November 2023, 244 tons of this raw material were imported for $131 thousand. This year, imports were carried out from Poland (50.37%), the Netherlands (23.23%) and Norway (13.69%).
As reported, in 2023, Ukraine decreased exports of iron ore in physical terms by 26% compared to 2022 – to 17 million 753.165 thousand tons, foreign exchange earnings from iron ore exports amounted to $1 billion 766.906 million (down 39.3%). Iron ore was exported mainly to Slovakia (28.39% of supplies in monetary terms), the Czech Republic (19.74%) and Poland (19.56%).
Last year, Ukraine imported iron ore worth $135 thousand in the total amount of 250 tons. During this period, imports were made from Norway (34.81%), Italy (28.89%) and the Netherlands (28.89%). While in 2022, iron ore was imported for $65 thousand in a total volume of 101 tons.
In January-November of this year, Ukraine’s metallurgical enterprises increased their revenues from ferrous metal exports by 18.06% year-on-year to $2 billion 872.572 million.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS) on Monday, ferrous metals accounted for 7.48% of total export revenues during this period, compared to 7.38% in January-November 2023.
In November, revenues from exports of ferrous metals amounted to $207.343 million, while in the previous month – $265.72 million.
At the same time, Ukraine increased imports of similar products by 14.3% to $1 billion 370.375 million in the first eleven months of this year. In November, the country imported products worth $118.267 million.
In addition, in January-November 2024, Ukraine increased exports of metal products by 6% to $871.007 million. In November, they were exported for $71.998 million.
Imports of metal products increased by 16% to $960.596 million over the same period. In November, these products were imported for $75.395 million.
As reported earlier, in 2023, Ukraine’s steelmaking companies reduced revenues from exports of ferrous metals by 41.6% compared to 2022, to $2 billion 647.72 million, with ferrous metals accounting for 7.3% of total revenues from exports of goods in this period, compared to 10.3% in 2022. At the same time, in 2023, Ukraine increased imports of similar products by 37% to $1 billion 307.05 million.
In addition, last year, Ukraine reduced exports of metal products by 16.6% year-on-year to $877.92 million, while imports of metal products increased by 40.3% to $902.57 million.
Since the beginning of the 2024-2025 marketing year and as of December 9, Ukraine has exported 18.981 mln tonnes of grains and pulses, of which 606 tonnes were shipped this month, the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food reported, citing data from the State Customs Service of Ukraine.
According to the report, as of December 13 last year, the total shipments amounted to 14.697 mln tonnes, including 1.6 mln tonnes in December.
In terms of crops, since the beginning of the current season, Ukraine has exported 9.115 million tons of wheat (121 thousand tons in December), 1.866 million tons of barley (4 thousand tons), 10.8 thousand tons of rye (0), and 7.684 million tons of corn (475 thousand tons).
The total export of Ukrainian flour since the beginning of the season as of December 9 is estimated at 33.3 thsd tonnes (1.6 thsd tonnes in December), including 30.5 thsd tonnes of wheat (1.5 thsd tonnes).
Electricity exports to Europe in November decreased by 31% compared to October and were almost four times lower than imports, according to DiXi Group, a Ukrainian think tank in the areas of politics, energy and security, citing Energy Map.
“Last month, electricity exports fell by 31% to 41.9 thousand MWh,” DiXi Group said in a Facebook post.
According to it, 30% or 12.7 thousand MWh went to Slovakia, another 23% (9.4 thousand MWh) to Hungary. 19% (8.1 thousand MWh and 7.8 thousand MWh) went to Moldova and Romania. 9% (3.9 thousand MWh) went to Poland.
According to DiXi’s information, imports amounted to 162.4 thousand MWh, which is 11% less than in October and almost four times more than exports.
DiXi explained that exports fell in the second half of last month, while imports increased due to Russia’s massive attacks on energy infrastructure on November 17 and 28, which led to a shortage in the power system.
As reported, according to D.Trading, in November-2024, Ukraine remained a net importer of electricity, and its imports amounted to 165 million kWh, which is 9% lower than in October.
As DiXi reported earlier, in October-2024, Ukraine exported 60.7 thousand MWh instead of 0.7 thousand MWh in September.
Despite the overall shortage of electricity caused by 11 massive Russian attacks on the power system this year, at certain hours, in particular, during the active operation of renewable energy generation, as well as at night, Ukraine has a surplus, which allows for exports. An alternative to exports is, in particular, a forced limitation of electricity production from renewable energy sources, which should be compensated by NPC Ukrenergo. Due to the surplus, other types of generation should also reduce their capacity.
Ukraine exported 8.96 mln tonnes of wheat in July-November of 2024/25 marketing year (MY July-2024 – June 2025), which is significantly higher than last year’s pace, when 5.8 mln tonnes were exported in the same five months of the season, but it is lower than the pre-war dynamics, UkrAgroConsult news agency reported.
“Nevertheless, in the first five months of the season-2024/25, 55% of the maximum wheat exports approved in August under the memorandum between the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food and specialized organizations of the Ukrainian grain market have already been realized,” the analysts said.
According to them, the top five importers of Ukrainian wheat are three countries of Southeast Asia: Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand.
It is noted that the share of remote markets has increased significantly due to the stable operation of the sea corridor, but Spain remains the main destination. Among the interesting destinations is Algeria, which has already imported more than half a million tons of Ukrainian wheat this season. At the same time, the poor harvest in France prompted local importers to switch to Black Sea grain, UkrAgroConsult explains the trends.
As of December 6, Ukraine exported 18.855 mln tonnes of grains and pulses since the beginning of 2024-2025 marketing year, 480 thsd tonnes of which were shipped since the beginning of the month, the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food reported, citing the data of the State Customs Service.
According to the report, as of the same date last year, the total shipments amounted to 13.723 mln tons, including 626 thsd tonnes in December.
At the same time, in 2024-2025 marketing year, the exports of all major crops are significantly higher than last year. Thus, since the beginning of the current season, Ukraine has exported 9.078 mln tonnes of wheat (6.057 mln tonnes in 2023/24 MY), 1.865 mln tonnes of barley (889 thsd tonnes), 10.8 thsd tonnes of rye (0.9 thsd tonnes), and 7.6 mln tonnes of corn (6.642 mln tonnes).
The total export of Ukrainian flour since the beginning of the season as of December 6 is estimated at 32.8 thsd tonnes (in 2023/24 MY – 51.1 thsd tonnes), including 30 thsd tonnes of wheat (48.8 thsd tonnes).
