In January–June of this year, Ukraine increased its exports of processed pig iron by 11.1% in volume terms compared to the same period last year—to 981,461 thousand metric tons from 883,174 thousand metric tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), 183,780 thousand metric tons of pig iron were exported in June, 159,378 thousand metric tons in May, in April—181,670 thousand metric tons, in March—168,493 thousand metric tons, in February—194,345 thousand metric tons, and in January—93,795 thousand metric tons.
From January through June 2026, pig iron exports in monetary terms increased by 11.3% to $388,890 million. Exports were primarily directed to the United States (86.25% of shipments in monetary terms), Turkey (9.16%), and Italy (2.33%).
In the first six months of this year, the country imported 15 metric tons of pig iron from Germany worth $35,000, compared to 29 metric tons worth $55,000 during the same period last year.
As previously reported, in 2025 Ukraine increased its pig iron exports by 53.5% in volume terms compared to 2024—to 1,980,620 metric tons—and by 51.9% in revenue, to $759,882 million. Exports were primarily shipped to the United States (68.25% of shipments by value), Italy (20.26%), and Turkey (3.63%).
Last year, the country imported 39 thousand metric tons of pig iron worth $78 thousand from Germany (51.95%) and Brazil (48.05%), while in January–December 2024, 38 metric tons worth $90 thousand were imported.
Starting March 12, 2025, the United States, pursuant to a decision by President Donald Trump, began imposing a 25% tariff on imports of Ukrainian steel products, excluding pig iron.
The Experts Club Information and Analytical Center recently released a video analysis of the top 20 steel-producing countries – https://youtube.com/shorts/j7Yev2HCS4o?si=lfmGJ5jrx8036z1U
In January–June of this year, Ukrainian companies increased their consumption of rolled metal products by 3.64% compared to the same period last year—to 2 million 9.3 thousand metric tons.
According to a press release from the “Ukrmetallurgprom” association, 880.3 thousand metric tons were imported during this period, accounting for 43.81% of the domestic rolled steel consumption market.
According to “Ukrmetallurgprom,” in January–June 2026, Ukrainian steel companies produced 2.940 million metric tons of rolled steel (95.8% of the figure for the same period in 2025), of which, according to the State Customs Service of Ukraine, approximately 1.811 million metric tons—or 61.6%—were exported. In January–June 2025, the share of exports was 60.2% (1.848 million metric tons out of a total rolled steel production of 3.070 million metric tons).
The share of semi-finished products in export shipments in January–June 2026 was 42.85%, which is significantly higher than the figure for the same period in 2025 (30.90%). The share of flat products in exports in January–June 2026 was slightly lower than in January–June 2025 (43.90% and 46.81%, respectively). The share of long products, however, was noticeably lower than in January–June 2025 (13.35% in 2026 versus 22.29% in 2025).
The structure of imports in January–June 2026 is characterized by a marked dominance of flat-rolled products over structural steel (64.38% and 27.99%, respectively), however, in January–June 2025, the dominance of flat-rolled products over long products was significantly greater (77.30% and 20.96%, respectively).
“In January–June 2026, the domestic market capacity was 2,009.3 thousand metric tons of rolled steel, of which 880.3 thousand metric tons, or 43.81%, consisted of imports. In January–June 2025, the domestic market capacity was 1,938.7 thousand metric tons, of which 716.7 thousand metric tons, or 36.97%, were imported. “Thus, in January–June 2026, the domestic market capacity increased by 3.64% compared to January–June 2025, with a simultaneous 6.84% rise in the share of imports,” the press release states.
According to the State Customs Service, the main export markets for Ukrainian rolled metal in January–June 2026 were EU countries (80.0%), other European countries (10.6%), and the CIS (7.0%).
Among importers of rolled metal products in the first half of 2026, other European countries ranked first (48.5%), followed by Asian countries (25.8%), and EU-27 countries (16.4%).
As previously reported, Ukraine’s rolled metal market grew by 21.73% in 2025 compared to 2024, reaching 4 million 1.6 thousand metric tons. Imports totaled 1 million 603.6 thousand metric tons, accounting for 40.07% of domestic rolled metal consumption.
Ukraine’s rolled steel market in 2024 shrank by 6.26% compared to the previous year—to 3,288.4 thousand metric tons, while in 2023 it increased 2.19 times compared to 2022—to 3,505.6 thousand metric tons.
CONSUMPTION, EXPORTS, IMPORTS, ROLLED STEEL, UKRMETALLURGPROM
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
In January–June of this year, Ukraine’s metallurgical enterprises saw a 3.9% decrease in revenue from ferrous metal exports compared to the same period last year—down to $1 billion 478.041 million from $1 billion 538.513 million.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), ferrous metals accounted for 7.02% of total export revenue during this period, compared to 7.68% in January–June 2025.
In June 2026, export revenue totaled $293.644 million, compared to $291.757 million the previous month.
At the same time, Ukraine increased imports of similar products by 4.5% in January–June 2026, to $845.622 million. In June, imports totaled $140.744 million.
In addition, in January–June of this year, Ukraine reduced exports of metal products by 14.8% to $436.062 million. In June, exports of these products totaled $84.777 million.
Imports of metal products during this period rose by 13.6% to $590.757 million. In June, $125.767 million worth of these products were imported.
As previously reported, Ukraine’s metal enterprises increased their revenue from ferrous metal exports by 7.85% in 2025 compared to the previous year, reaching $3,339,487,000. Ferrous metals accounted for 8.25% of total export revenue for the year, compared to 7.42% in 2024. At the same time, Ukraine increased imports of similar products by 12.9% over the year—to $1 billion 669,544 million. In addition, Ukraine reduced exports of metal products by 3%—to $916,151 million. Imports of metal products rose by 24.4%—to $1 billion 290.608 million.
In 2024, metal companies increased their revenue from ferrous metal exports by 16.9% compared to 2023—to $3 billion 96.343 million. At the same time, Ukraine increased imports of similar products by 13.1%—to $1 billion 478.814 million.
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.
In its July WASDE report, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) raised its forecast for wheat production in Ukraine in the 2026/27 marketing year to 24 million metric tons from 23.5 million metric tons, which had been expected a month earlier.
According to the WASDE report, released on July 10, 2026, the forecast for global wheat production in the 2026/27 marketing year remained virtually unchanged at 819.97 million metric tons, compared to 820.06 million metric tons in June. At the same time, the USDA notes that the wheat production forecast was raised for Russia and Ukraine due to favorable conditions for winter wheat.
The USDA raised its forecast for Ukrainian wheat exports to 14.5 million metric tons from 14 million metric tons a month earlier. According to the report, global wheat exports for the 2026/27 marketing year have been raised to 213.1 million metric tons due to increased shipments from Argentina, Russia, and Ukraine, which more than offset the downward revision to Canada’s export forecast.
In the WASDE tables for the 2025/26 marketing year, Ukraine’s wheat production is estimated at 24.1 million metric tons, with exports at 14 million metric tons. In the 2024/25 marketing year, according to the USDA, Ukraine produced 23.4 million metric tons of wheat and exported 15.75 million metric tons.
The revision of the Ukrainian forecast comes amid a tighter global supply-demand balance. The USDA lowered its forecast for global ending wheat stocks in the 2026/27 marketing year to 272.8 million metric tons, which is 2.6 million metric tons less than the June estimate. At the same time, the forecast for global consumption was raised to 826.2 million metric tons.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture had previously forecast the 2026 grain harvest at approximately 60.4 million metric tons, including about 22.4 million metric tons of wheat, about 4.7 million metric tons of barley, and about 31.6 million metric tons of corn.
According to the State Statistics Service, in 2025, Ukraine’s wheat harvest increased by 3.6% to 23.34 million metric tons, and the corn harvest rose by 14.6% to 30.9 million metric tons, while barley production fell by 2.4% to 5.2 million metric tons.
Ukraine remains one of the key wheat exporters in the Black Sea region; however, export volumes in the 2026/27 marketing year will depend not only on the harvest but also on the operation of the maritime corridor, logistics via the Danube and western borders, ship insurance, and the security situation regarding port infrastructure.
