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.
Ukrainian steelmakers reduced pig iron production by 0.6% in January–May of this year compared to the same period last year, down to 2.990 million tons.
According to data from the Ukrmetallurgprom association, 634,400 tons of pig iron were produced in May, 554,000 tons in April, 690,200 tons in March, in February—561,900 tons, and in January—549,900 tons.
As reported, Ukraine’s metallurgical enterprises increased pig iron production by 11.2% in 2025—to 7.884 million tons.
In 2024, Ukraine increased pig iron production by 18.1% compared to 2023—to 7.090 million tons. In 2023, pig iron production decreased by 6.1% to 6.003 million tons, and in 2022, by 69.8% to 6.391 million tons.
In 2021, before the war, 21.165 million tons of pig iron were produced, or 103.6% of the 2020 level.
The Experts Club Information and Analytical Center recently presented a video analysis of the top 20 steel-producing countries – https://youtube.com/shorts/j7Yev2HCS4o?si=lfmGJ5jrx8036z1U
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Ukrainian steelmakers reduced total rolled steel production by 6.7% in January–May of this year compared to the same period last year, down to 2.340 million tons.
According to data from the Ukrmetallurgprom association, 537,800 tons of rolled steel were produced in May, 460,800 tons in April, 544,500 tons in March, in February—390,300 tons, and in January—406,400 tons.
As reported, Ukraine’s steel companies increased total rolled steel production by 4.8% in 2025 compared to 2024—to 6.521 million tons.
In 2024, Ukraine increased its production of general rolled steel by 15.8% compared to 2023—to 6.222 million tons from 5.372 million tons. In 2023, total rolled steel production rose by 0.4% to 5.372 million tons, while in 2022 it fell by 72% to 5.350 million tons.
In 2021, before the war, 19.079 million tons of rolled steel were produced, or 103.5% of the 2020 level.
Ukrainian steelmakers reduced steel production by 6.12% in January–May of this year compared to the same period last year, down to 2.875 million tons.
According to data from the Ukrmetallurgprom association, 629,400 tons of steel were produced in May, 517,300 tons in April, 702,300 tons in March, in February—515,000 tons, and in January—511,100 tons.
As reported, Ukraine’s steel companies reduced steel production by 2.2% in 2025—to 7.409 million tons.
In 2024, Ukraine increased steel production by 21.6% compared to 2023—to 7.575 million tons. In 2023, steel production decreased by 0.6% to 6.228 million tons, and in 2022, by 70.7% to 6.263 million tons.
In 2021, before the war, 21.366 million tons of steel were produced, or 103.6% of the 2020 level.
The ‘Kametstal’ plant, part of the “Metinvest” mining and metallurgical group and established at the facilities of the Dniprovsky Metallurgical Plant (Kamenskoye, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast), has reduced electricity consumption in its converter shop by 6 kWh per ton of steel produced, from 27.4 to 21.4 kWh/t, through measures to reduce equipment load during periods between smelting runs.
According to the company, in particular, the downtime for unloading converter exhaust fan rotors has been cut in half. Operations have been organized on a rotational basis for each of the two converters, allowing equipment not involved in the current melt to be shut down and minimizing idle time, thereby ensuring a systematic reduction in electricity consumption.
In addition, electricity consumption by circulation pumps No. 1 and No. 2—which supply water to the converter gas cooling boilers on both operating converters—has been reduced by 1.2 kWh/t. As part of the investment project, frequency converters and modern controllers from Schneider were installed on CN-1 and CN-2. This allows for the automatic unloading of pumping equipment in accordance with the steelmaking process, thereby minimizing its electricity consumption between converter purges.
In the post-converter steel processing department, electricity consumption was reduced by 4.6 kWh/t through the phased implementation of effective engineering solutions to optimize metal heating. At the same time, the algorithm for automatic control of the metal heating process in the “furnace-ladle” unit was refined and improved by selecting the optimal combination of heating stages and heating rates.
Kametsal was established on the basis of PJSC Dniprovsky Coke Chemical Plant (DKCHZ) and PJSC Dniprovsky Metallurgical Plant (DMP). It is part of the Metinvest Group.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical enterprises. Its facilities are located in Ukraine—in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions—as well as in European countries. The holding’s main shareholders are the SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%). Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of the Metinvest Group.
Metinvest-Resource LLC (Zaporizhzhia) increased its net profit by 20.3% in January–March of this year compared to the same period last year—to UAH 7.044 million from UAH 5.857 million.
According to the company’s interim report, available to the agency “Interfax-Ukraine,” revenue from ordinary activities for this period rose by 11.1%—to UAH 1.188955 billion from UAH 1.338114 billion.
The accumulated loss as of the end of March stood at UAH 32.398 million.
In 2025, the LLC reported a net profit of UAH 62.679 million, while revenue from ordinary activities for this period increased by 42.4% compared to 2024—to UAH 5.673455 billion from UAH 3.982851 billion.
Sales volume of finished products in 2025 and 2024 amounted to 108,165 thousand tons and 113,321 thousand tons, respectively.
The number of employees as of the end of 2025 was 35, and as of the end of 2024, it was 34. Labor costs for full-time employees in 2024 amounted to UAH 19.595 million, and in 2025, to UAH 22.7899 million.
In 2024, the LLC reported a net profit of UAH 6.085 million, whereas it ended 2023 with a loss of UAH 43.270 million, and in 2022, the net loss was UAH 129.227 million.
Metinvest-Resource LLC is the exclusive supplier of ferrous metal scrap to the Ukrainian metallurgical enterprises of the Metinvest Group. The company’s main activities include the wholesale trade of waste and scrap (primary) and the processing of scrap metal. As of the end of 2025, the company’s registered address is in Zaporizhzhia. The company’s capacity allows it to meet the needs of enterprises and amounts to approximately 0.693 million tons of raw materials per year.
The LLC’s authorized capital is UAH 6.437 million.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical enterprises. The holding’s main shareholders are the SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%). Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of the Metinvest Group.
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