In January–May of this year, Ukraine’s iron ore mining companies reduced iron ore exports by 26.1% in volume terms compared to the same period last year—to 10,125,260 tons from 13,545,967 tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS) on Friday, 2,239,167 thousand tons of IOR were exported in May, 2,163,837 thousand tons in April, 2,300,467 thousand tons in March, in February – 1,254,516 thousand tons, and in January – 2,054,539 thousand tons.
In the first five months of the year, foreign exchange earnings from mineral ore exports decreased by 28.6% to $766.946 million.
Mineral ore exports were mainly shipped to China (44.10% of shipments in monetary terms), Slovakia (18.09%), and Poland (14.73%).
In addition, Ukraine imported 224 tons of raw materials worth $62,000 from the Netherlands (38.71%), Poland (32.26%), and Italy (29.03%) in January–May 2026, whereas in January–May 2025, it imported 65,000 tons worth $46,000.
As reported, Ukraine’s mining enterprises reduced ore exports in physical terms by 8% in 2025 compared to the previous year—to 30,995,363 tons from 33,699,722 tons, foreign exchange earnings decreased by 16.6%—to $2.337765 billion from $2.803223 billion. Exports were mainly directed to China (44.98% of shipments in monetary terms), Slovakia (17.15%), and Poland (16.09%).
In addition, in 2025, Ukraine imported $95,000 worth of raw materials totaling 130 tons from the Netherlands (46.32%), Italy (36.84%), and Norway (13.68%), whereas in the previous year it imported 2,042 tons worth $414,000.
In January–May 2026, Ukraine increased imports of nickel and nickel products by 15% compared to the same period last year, reaching $9.171 million.
In May, imports of nickel and nickel products totaled $2.294 million.
At the same time, exports of nickel and nickel products for January–May of this year amounted to $192,000, compared to $443,000 for the first five months of 2025. In May, nickel exports totaled $8,000.
As reported, Ukraine reduced imports of nickel and nickel products by 2.7% in 2025 compared to 2024, down to $26.011 million. Exports of nickel and nickel products totaled $1.420 million, compared to $602,000 in 2024.
Nickel is used in the production of stainless steel and for nickel plating. Nickel is also used in battery production, powder metallurgy, and chemical reagents.
In January–May of this year, Ukrainian companies increased imports of copper and copper products by 9.4% in monetary terms compared to the same period last year, reaching $85.297 million.
According to customs statistics released by the State Customs Service of Ukraine on Friday, exports of copper and copper products during the period increased by 1.3% to $39.247 million. In May, copper imports totaled $20.421 million, while exports amounted to $9.237 million.
As reported, in 2025, Ukrainian companies increased imports of copper and copper products by 23.2% in monetary terms compared to the previous year, reaching $173.453 million, while exports of copper and copper products rose by 17.7% to $103.848 million.
Copper is widely used in electrical engineering, in the production of pipes, for creating alloys, in medicine, and in other industries.
Earlier, the Experts Club information and analytical center released a video dedicated to global copper production and leading producing countries – https://youtube.com/shorts/_h8iU50z8C0?si=a-XkgGEfeUxseQNa
In January–May 2026, Ukraine’s exports of metal products fell by 17.9% compared to the same period last year, to $351.285 million.
According to statistics from the State Customs Service, exports of metal products amounted to $78.032 million in May of this year.
The decline in metal product exports was more pronounced than the drop in export revenue from ferrous metals, which fell by 6.2% over the same period.
As reported, in 2025 Ukraine reduced exports of metal products by 3% compared to the previous year—to $916.151 million.
In January–May 2026, Ukraine’s metallurgical enterprises saw a 6.2% decline in revenue from ferrous metal exports compared to the same period last year—down to $1.184435 billion from $1.262746 billion.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service, ferrous metals accounted for 6.73% of total export revenue during this period, compared to 7.45% in January–May 2025.
In May 2026, revenues from ferrous metal exports amounted to $291.757 million, compared to $259.544 million in April.
As reported, Ukraine’s metallurgical enterprises increased revenue from ferrous metal exports by 7.85% in 2025 compared to the previous year—to $3.339487 billion. Ferrous metals accounted for 8.25% of total export revenue for the year.
In its June report, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) raised its forecast for Ukraine’s wheat production in the 2026/27 marketing year (July–June) to 23.5 million tons from 23 million tons, as projected a month earlier, and also increased its export estimate from 13 million tons to 14 million tons.
In the June World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, USDA analysts attributed the forecast revision for Ukraine to favorable weather conditions in the spring.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the upward revision of the forecast for Ukraine was one of the factors behind the increase in the forecast for global wheat production in the 2026/27 marketing year from 819.1 million tons to 820.1 million tons. Global wheat trade was also revised upward—from 211.7 million tons to 212.0 million tons.
In addition, the USDA raised its forecast for Ukraine’s barley harvest in the 2026/27 marketing year by 300,000 tons—from 5.5 million tons to 5.8 million tons, as expected a month earlier.
The export estimate was also increased by the same 300,000 tons, which, together with other grains excluding wheat and corn, currently stands at 2.49 million tons.
As for the corn harvest forecast, analysts at the U.S. Department of Agriculture left it unchanged at 30 million tons this year, compared to 30.9 million tons last year. Corn exports from Ukraine are expected to reach 23 million tons, the same as a month earlier.
As reported, in its May report, the USDA published its first forecast for Ukraine for the 2026/27 marketing year, estimating the wheat harvest at 23 million tons, exports at 13 million tons, and corn production and exports at 30 million tons and 23 million tons, respectively.
As reported, Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture forecasts the 2026 grain harvest at around 60.4 million tons, which is only 1%, or 0.64 million tons, less than last year. According to preliminary estimates by the Ministry of Economy, the harvest of key crops could amount to about 22.4 million tons of wheat, about 4.7 million tons of barley, and approximately 31.6 million tons of corn.
According to data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, the wheat harvest in Ukraine in 2025 increased by 3.6% to 23.34 million tons, the corn harvest by 14.6% to 30.9 million tons, while barley production decreased by 2.4% to 5.2 million tons.
