Zaporizhzhia-based Zaporizhstal Iron and Steel Works increased its rolled steel output by 9.7% year-on-year to 215 thousand tons from 196 thousand tons in January this year.
According to the company’s press release on Tuesday, steel production for the period amounted to 243 thousand tons (January-2023: 235.5 thousand tons), pig iron – 287.7 thousand tons (261 thousand tons).
In December, Zaporizhstal produced 284.7 thousand tons of iron, 245.5 thousand tons of steel, and shipped 234.1 thousand tons of rolled products.
As reported earlier, in 2024, Zaporizhstal increased its rolled steel output by 18.1% compared to 2023 – to 2 million 426.7 thousand tons from 2 million 54.7 thousand tons, steel by 17.2% to 2 million 890.8 thousand tons, and pig iron by 14.2% to 3 million 106.3 thousand tons.
“In 2023, Zaporizhstal increased its rolled products output by 57.2% compared to 2022, up to 2 million 54.7 thousand tons, steel by 65.4%, to 2 million 466.9 thousand tons, and pig iron by 35.3%, to 2 million 718.9 thousand tons.
“Zaporizhstal is one of the largest industrial enterprises in Ukraine, whose products are in great demand among consumers both in the domestic market and in many countries of the world.
“Zaporizhstal is in the process of integration into Metinvest Group, whose major shareholders are System Capital Management (71.24%) and Smart Holding Group (23.76%).
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
Cabinet furniture manufacturer Accord Import (Khmelnytsky) will almost triple its production capacity by building a new plant in Khmelnytsky, where it plans to create 140 jobs, according to Dmytro Kysylevsky, deputy chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Development.
“Construction of a new cabinet furniture plant has started in Khmelnytsky. The project’s investor is Accord Import. After the new plant is launched, its production capacity will increase from 420 thousand square meters to 1.2 million square meters of cabinet furniture per month. This will allow the company to enter the top 5 manufacturers of cabinet furniture in Europe,” he wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday.
According to the MP, the amount of investment in the new project is $14 million. The launch of the first production lines is scheduled for July 2025, and the new plant should reach full capacity in September.
Kisilevsky noted that a 1.1 MW solar power plant has been built and an additional 2.8 MW is under construction to meet the electricity needs, and a gas piston plant has been purchased.
“Currently, the existing Accord Import facility is 100% utilized. About 70% of the company’s orders for cabinet furniture come from the international retail chain JYSK, which in 2025 increased the volume of orders for cabinet furniture from Ukraine by a third,” Kysylevsky wrote.
According to the company’s Facebook page, Raiffeisen Bank has extended the term of the credit line under this contract, which was granted at the end of 2023, and the term of the ECA insurance contract for Accord Import.
“Thus, Raif and ECA have supported furniture exports for 2025 to Denmark, the Netherlands, Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Sweden, Germany and Spain,” the company wrote.
According to Kysylevsky, Accord Import exports 96% of its products to the EU, and the launch of the new plant will expand the geography of exports to the Middle East, South Asia, and South America.
The MP also clarified that the owners of Accord Import, the Grabar family, started out as furniture importers, while now it is Ukraine’s largest exporter of cabinetry.
He also added that to replace the imports of cellular cardboard used by the company for furniture packaging, another company is currently under construction in Khmelnytsky Oblast to produce this product.
“And the supplier of wooden boards for Accrod Import is Kronospan, which has recently launched a production line in Rivne region,” Kysylevsky added.
According to the Clarirty Project, Accord Import LLC was registered in Khmelnytskyi in August 2015. The company’s authorized capital is UAH 42.105 million, and the owners are Mykola, Ruslan, and Vadym Hrabar in equal shares.
In January-September 2024, the company increased its net profit by 23% compared to the same period in 2023 to UAH 120.6 million, with net revenue growing by 27% to UAH 1 billion 271 million.
Centravis Production Ukraine (Nikopol, Dnipropetrovska oblast, Ukraine), a part of Centravis Ltd. holding, increased production of seamless stainless pipes by 12.6% in 2024 compared to 2023, to 13.7 thousand tons.
This is almost the same growth rate as in 2023, when the company increased production by 12%, Centravis CEO Yuriy Atanasov said during an online press conference on Tuesday. Centravis exported almost all of its products, with exports totaling 13.7 thousand tons.
“Nikopol district is a unique city. It has difficult working and living conditions. And 2024 was another year of escalating hostilities. A huge number of drones are killing our city, targeting the infrastructure to cut off water and electricity. Our constant priority is to resume work after each attack,” said Atanasov.
At the same time, the CEO drew attention to the inadequate response to the situation at the enterprise: “There are a lot of promises, but no concrete actions. There are no decisions on lending to the company, no one is going to provide a commodity loan.”
“The second issue is booking. No one comes to Nikopol. We have constant demands for mobilization, but 50% booking is not enough. And the last problem is litigation with the authorities, with the tax office, regarding VAT refunds. There are court decisions that the government does not enforce, the state ignores the decisions. There are only promises,” the CEO stated.
He clarified that the company cannot refund more than EUR 6 million of VAT to finance its operations. “At the same time, we increase our production by about 10% annually. And we not only survive in such difficult conditions, but also advance our strategic projects.
The company plans to increase production to 15 thousand tons in 2025.
Centravis CFO Alexander Joseph said that the company invested EUR 3 million in production in 2023, EUR 2 million in 2022, and plans to invest EUR 4 million in 2025.
According to the information note, the top 5 countries consuming Ukrainian seamless pipes made by Centravis are Germany, the United States, Italy, Austria, and Spain. In total, Centravis exported its products to 39 countries, including Oman, South Korea, Australia, Uruguay, etc.
“It takes a lot of work to achieve a positive result, and even more to maintain the growth rate for the second year in a row, especially in such a difficult time as now and not far from the front line. But our team gives 100% and even more. That is why we have such results and continue to grow,” said Centravis CEO.
According to him, in addition to quantitative indicators, the company managed to make many qualitative changes and implement interesting and notable projects last year. In particular, Centravis produced 28 tons of pipes by special order for SpaceX. The company also received an order for seamless pipes for a new hydrogen production plant in Ulsan, South Korea. The company continued cooperation with Ferrari, a sports car manufacturer, and completed several large orders for the US market.
Traditionally, Centravis represented the Ukrainian industry with its own exposition at the international exhibition Adipec in Abu Dhabi.
“We are not resting on our laurels. Our medium-term priorities include increasing the share of innovative products in our portfolio, i.e. those that would be protected by intellectual property rights and effectively solve our customers’ problems. We will continue to work and do our best to help the country survive and preserve opportunities for post-war development,” Atanasov said.
Last year, Centravis paid UAH 564.7 million in taxes and duties, or UAH 16 million more than in the previous year.
As reported, in 2023, Centravis increased its production by 12% to 12.2 thousand tons. More than 98% of its products are exported.
Currently, Centravis is one of the world’s ten largest producers of seamless stainless steel pipes.
“Founded in 2000, Centravis is one of the world’s ten largest producers of seamless stainless steel pipes. Its main production facilities are located in Nikopol (Dnipropetrovska oblast). In 2023, the company opened a branch in Uzhhorod.
Centravis Holding Ltd. was established on the basis of Nikopol Stainless Pipe Plant CJSC, service and trading companies of Production and Commercial Enterprise YUVIS LLC. Its shareholders are members of the Atanasov family. Centravis Ltd. owns 100% of the shares in Centravis Production Ukraine.
In December 2024, Ukrainian steelmakers increased steel production by 4.1% compared to the same period in 2023, to 547 thousand tons from 520 thousand tons, and by 1.1% compared to the previous month, when they produced 541 thousand tons.
At the same time, Ukraine ranked 23rd among 71 countries in the ranking of global producers of these products compiled by the World Steel Association (Worldsteel).
According to Worldsteel, in December 2024, steel production decreased compared to December 2023 in most of the top ten countries, except for China, India, Germany and Brazil.
The top ten steel producing countries in December are as follows: China (75.970 million tons, +11.8% by December 2023), India (13.582 million tons, +9.5%), Japan (6.907 million tons, -1.1%), the United States (6.684 million tons, -2.4%), and the Russian Federation (5.7 million tons, -8.6%), South Korea (5.209 million tons, -3.2%), Turkey (2.978 million tons, -7.6%), Germany (2.744 million tons, +4.1%), Iran (2.581 million tons, -8.2%) and Brazil (2.573 million tons, +1.8%).
Overall, in December 2024, steel production increased by 5.6% compared to the same period in 2023 to 144.460 million tons.
For 12 months of 2024, the top ten steel-producing countries are as follows: China (1 billion 5,090 million tons, -1.7%), India (149,587 million tons, +6.3%), Japan (84,009 million tons, -3.4%), the United States (79,452 million tons, -2.4%), the Russian Federation (70,690 million tons, -7%), South Korea (63, 531 million tons, -4.7%), Germany (37.234 million tons, +5.2%), Turkey (36.893 million tons, +9.4%), Brazil (33.741 million tons, +5.3%) and Iran (30.952 million tons, +0.8%).
In total, 71 countries produced 1 billion 839.449 million tons of steel in 2024, which is 0.9% less than in 2023.
At the same time, Ukraine produced 7.575 million tons of steel in 2024, up 21.6% from 6.228 million tons in 2023. The country was ranked 20th in 2024.
As reported, in 2023, China produced 1 billion 19.080 million tons at the level of the previous year), India (140.171 million tons, +11.8%), Japan (86.996 million tons, -2.5%), the United States (80.664 million tons, +0.2%), The Russian Federation (75.8 million tons, +5.6%), South Korea (66.676 million tons, +1.3%), Germany (35.438 million tons, -3.9%), Turkey (33.714 million tons, -4%), Brazil (31.869 million tons, -6.5%) and Iran (31.139 million tons, +1.8%).
In total, 71 countries produced 1 billion 849.734 million tons of steel in 2023, which is 0.1% less than in 2022.
At the same time, Ukraine produced 6.228 million tons of steel in 2023, which is 0.6% lower than in 2022. The country was ranked 22nd in 2023.
In 2022, the top ten steel-producing countries were as follows: China (1.013 billion tons, -2.1%), India (124.720 million tons, +5.5%), Japan (89.235 million tons, -7.4%), the United States (80.715 million tons, -5.9%), the Russian Federation (71.5 million tons, -7.2%), South Korea (65, 865 million tons, -6.5%), Germany (36.849 million tons, -8.4%), Turkey (35.134 million tons, -12.9%), Brazil (33.972 million tons, -5.8%) and Iran (30.593 million tons, +8%).
Ukraine ranked 23rd in 2022 with 6.263 million tons of steel produced (-70.7%).
In total, 64 countries produced 1 billion 831.467 million tons of steel in 2022, which is 4.3% less than in 2021.
Beer production in Ukraine in January-December 2024 reached 140.0 million dal, up 4.8% year-on-year, according to the website of the industry organization of brewers Ukrpyvo.
“The expert estimate of beer production in Ukraine (except for non-alcoholic beer with an alcohol content of up to 0.5 vol%) for 12 months of 2024 amounted to 140.0 million dal, which is 104.8% compared to the same period in 2023. At the same time, this figure is only 82.4% of the production volumes of 12 months of 2021,” the statement said.
As reported, beer production in Ukraine in 2023 increased by 7.8% compared to 2022. At the same time, in 2022, it fell by 27.9% compared to 2021 – to 122.8 million dal.
In 2024, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (AMKR, Dnipro region) increased its rolled steel production by 72.1% compared to 2023, to 1 million 534,519 thousand tons from 891,438 thousand tons, and steel production by 69.9%, to 1 million 651,410 thousand tons from 971,846 thousand tons.
According to the company’s press release on Tuesday, pig iron production increased by 42.7% to 2 million 167.616 thousand tons from 1 million 519.183 thousand tons.
In addition, AMKR increased production of coke with 6% moisture by 48.5% to 1 million 254,743 thousand tons from 845,068 thousand tons, and iron ore concentrate by 71.7% to 7 million 820,682 thousand tons from 4 million 555,365 thousand tons. Iron ore production increased by 68.3% to 19 million 189.037 thousand tons from 11 million 401.600 thousand tons.
At the same time, it is noted that due to a number of problems, including a shortage of electricity supply, high electricity prices and the need to import a significant portion of it, as well as expensive logistics, and unfavorable price situation in the steel markets, AMKR was unable to break even in 2024.
In the middle of the year, the plant managed to temporarily achieve 50% utilization of its steelmaking capacity. The mining department operated at around 70-75% of pre-war production.
Mauro Longobardo, CEO of AMKR, stated that the war continues to affect all production-related processes.
“We have made every effort to achieve zero losses, we have done everything in our power to reduce costs within the company and optimize consumption. But this (breakeven – IF-U) did not happen for a number of reasons. The operation of one blast furnace and the fire at the coke oven battery due to blackout in the summer and its loss played a role here. In addition, costly logistics, unstable energy supply due to constant enemy attacks, a personnel crisis, depressed foreign markets where we can export our products – all this negatively affects our competitiveness and, accordingly, our financial results,” explained the CEO.
According to him, the plant’s business plan is focused on survival.
“So far, we are very cautious in our forecasts and realize that our results are far from the pre-war ones. We continue to invest only in a project that is strategically important for production – the construction of the Third Map tailings dump, the first phase of which we completed this year. For 2025, our goal remains the same: to be able to do it on our own without the financial assistance of the group that supports us in these difficult times. Despite all the challenges, AMKR remains in Ukraine and with Ukraine. We believe in the Victory and are ready to take part in the country’s recovery,” Longobardo summarized.
“ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is the largest rolled steel producer in Ukraine. It specializes in long products, including rebar and wire rod. The company has a full production cycle and its production capacity is designed to produce over 6 million tons of steel, over 5 million tons of rolled products and over 5.5 million tons of pig iron annually.
ArcelorMittal owns the largest mining and metallurgical plant in Ukraine, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, and a number of small companies, including ArcelorMittal Berislav.
