India continues to strengthen its position as the world’s second-largest steel producer and is gradually closing the gap with China, according to data from the World Steel Association (Worldsteel) published on September 24, 2026.
From January through August 2026, Indian steelmakers produced 115.9 million metric tons of steel, a 6% increase compared to the same period last year. During the same period, China’s production fell by 3.1% to 651.9 million metric tons.
According to Open4Business calculations based on Worldsteel data, India produced approximately 109.3 million metric tons of steel in the first eight months of 2025, while China produced approximately 672.8 million metric tons. Thus, the absolute gap between the two largest producers over the year narrowed from approximately 563 million to 536 million metric tons, or by nearly 5%.
The ratio of production volumes is also shifting in India’s favor. While China produced about 6.2 times more steel than India from January through August of last year, that figure fell to about 5.6 times in 2026.
This trend continued in August. India increased its steel output by 4.6% year-over-year—to 14.8 million metric tons—while production in China fell by 3.7%—to 74.6 million metric tons. (World Steel Association)
India also more than doubles the output of the United States, which ranks third among the world’s largest producers. U.S. steelmakers produced 57.5 million metric tons of steel from January through August, increasing output by 5.5%. Japan produced 54 million metric tons, Russia—43.8 million metric tons, and South Korea—42.8 million metric tons.
Thus, India’s output over the eight-month period is already roughly double that of the U.S. and more than double that of Japan.
India accounted for about 9.5% of all steel produced by the 70 countries that provide statistics to Worldsteel, while China’s share was about 53% and the U.S.’s was about 4.7%. These 70 countries accounted for approximately 98% of global steel production in 2025.
The difference is particularly noticeable against the backdrop of the industry’s overall stagnation. From January through August, global steel production fell by 0.7% to 1.225 billion metric tons, while India continued to show steady growth. In August, global production declined by 1.2% year-over-year to 144.2 million metric tons.
Vietnam remains another fast-growing Asian producer. Over the eight-month period, it increased its output by 29.1%—to 20.6 million metric tons—with growth reaching 36.4% in August alone. Overall, however, steel production in Asia and Oceania has declined by 0.9% since the beginning of the year—to 906.4 million metric tons—primarily due to trends in the Chinese market.
China, meanwhile, maintains a huge lead and remains the undisputed leader in the global steel industry. However, the diverging trends of the two largest producers indicate a gradual increase in India’s share of the global steel industry.
Original source: World Steel Association — August 2026 crude steel production
Ukrainian steel mills produced 277,000 metric tons of steel in August 2026, which is 2.3 times less than in August of last year, when output totaled 649,000 metric tons.
Compared to July of this year, when 457,000 metric tons of steel were produced, August’s figure fell by another 39.4%.
Amid this sharp drop in output, Ukraine fell to 33rd place among the 70 steel-producing countries tracked by World Steel, the global steel industry association.
As recently as July 2026, Ukraine was ranked 26th, and in August 2025, it held the 21st position.
Thus, in just one year, the country lost 12 positions in the monthly global ranking.
At the same time, the results for the first eight months look better than those for August. From January through August 2026, Ukraine produced 4.30 million metric tons of steel, which is 12.5% less than the 4.91 million metric tons produced during the same period last year.
In terms of cumulative production over eight months, Ukraine ranks 24th in the world.
By comparison, for the full year of 2025, Ukraine produced 7.41 million metric tons of steel—2.2% less than in 2024—and ranked 21st among global producers.
Thus, August became one of the weakest months for the Ukrainian steel industry in 2026: production was 40% lower than in July and less than half of last year’s level.
The decline in Ukraine is occurring much faster than the global trend: in August, global steel production fell by only 1.2%, to 144.2 million metric tons, and for January–August, by 0.7%, to 1.225 billion metric tons.
New EU restrictions on steel imports, set to take effect on July 1 of this year, could destroy Ukraine’s mining and metallurgical complex (MMC) and deal a significant blow to the budget of a country defending itself against Russia, Metinvest Group CEO Yuriy Ryzhenkov said in an interview with The Guardian.
According to him, the EU’s new quota system could “kill Ukraine’s steel industry.”
He noted that the EU introduced protectionist measures due to a prolonged global steel surplus caused by China. The EU has halved the quotas for steel that can enter the bloc tariff-free and doubled the tariff to a prohibitive 50% on all imports exceeding the limit allocated to each country. This EU decision has caused concern among trading partners trying to secure a sufficiently large share of the quota for their own steel industries, particularly in the UK, where the industry has warned of an “existential threat” if it does not receive sufficient access to its largest export market.
For Ukraine, the economic threat from its military ally is exacerbated by the war, which has cut off some of its previous alternative markets and pushed the country’s steel companies toward closer integration with Europe. They have also faced additional costs due to constant attacks on infrastructure since the start of full-scale war in February 2022.
“In our view, this is an unfair approach. Ukraine does not pose a significant threat to the EU steel industry—supplies are small. At the same time, destroying one of the country’s functioning industries does not seem reasonable; we see no leniency toward Ukraine,” the CEO stated.
Furthermore, the quotas will also hinder military efforts by depriving the government of tax revenues equivalent to hundreds of millions of pounds. Metinvest is one of the largest taxpayers in the country’s private sector. Furthermore, the quotas will be imposed on duties as part of the implementation of the CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism).
Ryzhenkov noted that due to the war, Metinvest was unable to invest billions of euros in the construction of “green” electric arc furnaces at the Zaporizhstal and Kametstal plants, although the company had planned to do so even before the full-scale Russian invasion.
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 Union countries, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 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, an international vertically integrated mining and metallurgical group of companies, will act as the general partner of the international forum “Decarbonization of the Steel Industry: a Challenge for Ukraine,” which will be held in Kyiv on July 14, 2021.
According to the company’s press release, an event on the topic that has been discussed by the entire international community in recent years will be held in Ukraine for the first time.
As noted, for many years of operation, Metinvest has been striving to reduce the negative impact of production on the environment. Over the past 10 years, the group has allocated more than $ 3.4 billion for environmental initiatives and is committed to further reducing its carbon footprint to combat climate change.
Meanwhile, achieving carbon neutrality will be a big challenge for Ukrainian companies, as it involves a complete change in production processes and supply chains. In addition, the necessary technologies that will make the country’s economy carbon-free are only at the research stage. To develop a detailed roadmap for the transition to a “green” industry requires interaction between manufacturers, engineering companies, consumers, suppliers and the government.
Yuriy Ryzhenkov, the director general of Metinvest, stressed that the industry is facing a serious task that will affect the life of the entire country.
“Decarbonization can completely change both production and technologies. The sooner business and the state develop a unified approach to achieving carbon neutrality, the easier this process will be for the Ukrainian economy,” the top manager stated.
The forum is organized by GMK Center, an information-analytical and consulting company working in the field of metallurgy and industry. At the forum it is planned to discuss issues related to decarbonization of steel production, existing and promising technologies, plans of companies to reduce CO2 emissions and interaction with the state in this direction. The event will be attended by the representatives of mining and metallurgical companies, international engineering, consulting and R&D companies, as well as government officials, business associations and industry experts.
