Ferrexpo plc, a mining company with primary assets in Ukraine, produced 524,926 thousand tons of pellets in January–March of this year, which is 61% lower than in January–March of last year (1,347,749 thousand tons), but 27% more than in Q4 2025, when 412,867 thousand tons were produced.
According to the company’s press release on Wednesday, total production of commercial products (pellets and iron ore concentrate) in Q1 2026 fell by 72% compared to Q1 2025—to 592,751 thousand tons. Specifically, production of premium-grade Fe67% concentrate amounted to 67,825 thousand tons, compared to 777,718 thousand tons in Q1 2025 (a 91% decrease). The company also produced 524,926 thousand tons of premium-grade pellets (a 52% decrease). Meanwhile, no DR pellets (81,787 thousand tons were produced in Q1 2025) or other pellets (160,913 thousand tons) were produced.
The press release explains that Ferrexpo’s production activities were largely suspended in the first quarter due to nationwide attacks on Ukraine’s electricity generation and transmission infrastructure. Production resumed only with limited operations at reduced capacity levels in late February 2026 following improved electricity availability and prices. The Group continues to operate one of its four pelletizing lines and sell its products to European customers.
As noted in the trading update announced on April 1, 2026, the Group focused on carefully managing its working capital and expenses amid challenging operating conditions. This included reducing employee working hours, continuously cutting purchases of goods and services, and further suspending all non-essential capital expenditures, overhead costs, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenses.
The company continues to closely monitor its cash position and working capital and remains actively exploring and refining a range of potential financing options, which may include raising equity capital. At this stage, there is no certainty that the Group will successfully secure such financing options. If the withholding of VAT refunds continues and financing issues are not resolved in a timely manner, this could result in significant adverse consequences for the Group.
Commenting on the Group’s performance, interim acting chairman Lucio Genovese (Lucio Genovese) noted that the lower production figures in the first quarter of 2026—nearly half of those achieved in the last three months of 2025—reflect Russia’s targeted attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure at the end of last year and their impact on the company’s ability to operate stably.
“Until January, given that electricity supply could not be secured on a stable basis in the necessary volumes, we were forced to make the difficult decision to temporarily suspend operations and send part of the workforce on leave. Fortunately, by the end of February, we saw sufficient improvement in the availability and price of electricity to resume limited production at the PGZK on one pellet production line. One line remains in operation, and the group continues to use its own fleet of railcars for exports to customers in Eastern and Central Europe. “Going forward, we will focus on managing working capital and costs in this challenging operating environment,” said Genovese.
As reported, Ferrexpo produced 3,221,461 metric tons of pellets in 2025, which is 47% lower than in the previous year (6,070,541 metric tons). At the same time, total production of commercial products (pellets and iron ore concentrate) in 2025 decreased by 9% to 6,141,759 thousand tons. In particular, commercial concentrate output amounted to 2,920,298 thousand tons compared to 709,803 thousand tons, respectively. The company also produced 81,787 thousand tons of DR pellets (489,720 thousand tons in 2024) and 3,139,674 thousand tons of premium-grade pellets (a 44% decrease).
In 2024, Ferrexpo increased pellet production by 58% compared to 2023—to 6,070,541 thousand tons from 3,845,325 thousand tons. In 2023, the company produced 3.845 million tons of pellets, which is 36.5% less than in 2022.
Ferrexpo owns a 100% stake in Yeristivsky GOK LLC, 99.9% in Bilanivsky GOK LLC, and 100% of the shares in Poltavsky GOK PJSC.
Ukrainian steelmakers increased pig iron output by 5.9% in January–March 2026 compared to the same period last year, reaching 1.802 million tons.
According to information from the Ukrmetallurgprom association on Thursday, 690,200 tons of pig iron were produced in March, compared to 561,900 tons the previous month and 549,900 tons in January.
As reported, Ukraine’s metallurgical enterprises increased pig iron production by 11.2% in 2025 compared to 2024, reaching 7.884 million tons.
In 2024, Ukraine increased pig iron production by 18.1% compared to 2023—to 7.090 million tons.
In 2023, Ukraine reduced pig iron production by 6.1% compared to 2022—to 6.003 million tons.
In 2022, the country reduced pig iron production by 69.8% compared to 2021—to 6.391 million tons.
In 2021, before the war, 21.165 million tons of pig iron were produced.
Agricultural production in Ukraine increased by 1.7% in January–February 2026 compared to the same period last year, according to the State Statistics Service (SSS).
According to the agency’s data, the growth was driven exclusively by the livestock sector (index 101.7%), while data on crop production for this period are traditionally unavailable.
The main driver was agricultural enterprises, which increased production by 8.9%. The best performance in this segment was shown by enterprises in the Donetsk (index 162.5%), Lviv (132.9%), and Volyn (135.0%) regions. Overall, growth among enterprises was recorded in 20 regions.
In contrast, a decline was observed in private households: production volumes fell by 14.8% compared to January–February 2025. The largest declines in the private sector were recorded in the Donetsk (index 35.3%), Ternopil (50.9%), and Zakarpattia (63.8%) regions.
Regionally, across all categories of farms, the largest declines in production volumes were recorded in Donetsk (index 60.5%), Zakarpattia (68.3%), and Chernivtsi (82.9%) regions. At the same time, the leaders in overall growth were Vinnytsia (+22.9%), Lviv (+22.7%), and Kirovohrad (+7.6%) regions.
As reported, in January 2026, agricultural production in Ukraine increased by 3.2% compared to January 2025. Thus, over the course of two months, the growth rate slowed slightly.
Ukraine’s grain market is entering the 2026–2027 marketing year (MY, July–June) under significant pressure due to accumulated stocks and intensifying global competition, according to the information and analytical agency “UkrAgroConsult.”
“The key factor remains the accumulation of carryover stocks, which could reach about 10.7 million tons, putting pressure on prices,” analysts noted.
According to their forecasts, gross grain production in Ukraine in the 2026 season is expected to reach about 60.3 million tons, with about 51 million tons to be exported to foreign markets.
UkrAgroConsult identified the growing role of logistics, costs, and global competition as the main trends of the season. According to analysts’ estimates, export dynamics will be shaped by the need to unload the market, and the market itself will shift to a buyer’s market.
France’s TotalEnergies has announced that it has halted or is in the process of halting production in Qatar, Iraq, and offshore assets in the UAE. According to the company’s estimates, these assets account for about 15% of its total production. This is stated in TotalEnergies’ statement on its investor page.
The company clarified that onshore production in the UAE is not affected by the conflict. Its volume is about 210,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in TotalEnergies’ share. At the same time, 15% of the volume in the Middle East accounts for about 10% of the upstream segment’s cash flow, as local assets are subject to higher taxes and generate less cash flow per barrel than the group’s portfolio average.
The company also said that rising oil prices could compensate for the decline in volumes. According to TotalEnergies’ estimates, an $8 per barrel increase in the price of Brent is enough to offset the expected 2026 cash flow from assets in Iraq, Qatar, and offshore UAE at a price of $60 per barrel. At the same time, operations at the SATORP oil refinery in Saudi Arabia continue as usual and supply the kingdom’s domestic market.
Oilseed production in Ukraine in the 2026-2027 season will show growth due to high margins and the development of domestic processing, according to the information and analytical agency UkrAgroConsult.
Analysts noted that sunflower will remain a priority crop for farmers. At the beginning of 2026, sunflower seed prices approached UAH 30,000/t, which encourages farms to expand their crops. The area under this crop in the new season may increase to 6.1 million hectares.
The soybean and rapeseed markets remain stable. At the same time, domestic processing of these crops is growing in Ukraine, which strengthens the country’s role in the Black Sea region. An increase in gross seed harvest will stimulate plant utilization and further growth in oil and meal exports.
Among the key trends for the 2026/27 season, UkrAgroConsult named the preservation of oilseeds as one of the most profitable segments of agricultural production, with sunflower maintaining its leading position. Analysts also predict an increase in processing capacity utilization and a further increase in exports of processed products amid relative stability in the soybean and rapeseed markets.
