Zaporizhstal Iron and Steel Works has begun supplying rolled steel to Metinvest’s pipe plant in Romania, Metinvest Tubular Iasi, which became part of the group at the end of 2025.
According to a press release on Thursday, since the beginning of 2026, the company has shipped 22,000 tons of hot-rolled structural steel certified to the European standard EN 10025. In total, up to 180,000 tons of rolled steel are planned to be supplied to the pipe plant this year.
“Zaporizhstal’s rolled products are in demand among European and Ukrainian pipe manufacturers: every year, up to 80% of our metal products are shipped for the manufacture of straight-seam pipes and profiles. We are pleased to welcome Romanian pipe manufacturers to the Metinvest Group and to establish a new format of cooperation to strengthen the economic partnership between Ukraine and Europe,” said Taras Shevchenko, acting CEO of Zaporizhstal, whose words are quoted in the report.
It is specified that hot-rolled products made of mild structural steels are in high demand in the pipe industry due to their mechanical properties, which ensure the reliability and strength of finished products. Such products can withstand significant loads, including impact loads, operate under pressure, weld well, and maintain stable performance characteristics.
“Zaporizhstal’s rolled products are used to manufacture round, profile, and rectangular welded pipes that comply with European standards EN 10219 and EN 10217 and are used in geothermal engineering, energy, construction, and fire extinguishing systems, among others. Zaporizhstal steel pipes have proven to fully meet high requirements during testing, so we are establishing long-term mutually beneficial cooperation with Zaporizhstal metallurgists,” said Cosmin Toma, CEO of Metinvest Tubular Iasi, as quoted by the company’s press service.
The largest consumers of pipes produced by Metinvest Tubular Yassy are the domestic market of Romania, as well as companies from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, and other European countries.
As reported, Zaporizhstal produced 3.5 million tons of pig iron, 3.2 million tons of steel, and 2.8 million tons of rolled products in 2025.
Zaporizhstal is a joint venture of the Metinvest Group, whose main shareholders are System Capital Management (71.24%) and Smart Steel Limited (23.76%). Metinvest Holding LLC is the managing company of the Metinvest Group.
METINVEST, PLANT, ROLLED PRODUCTS, ROMANIA, SUPPLY, ZAPORIZHSTAL
In January of this year, ferrous metal scrap trading companies reduced their procurement of ferrous metal scrap by 18.5% to 97,100 tons from 149,000 tons.
According to data from the Ukrainian Association of Secondary Metals (UAVtormet), scrap collectors reduced their supplies of scrap to Ukrainian metallurgical plants by 26.7% compared to the same period last year, to 92.5 thousand tons from 126.2 thousand tons. At the same time, steel production during the same period decreased by 16.4% to 511 thousand tons from 611 thousand tons.
According to UAVtormet estimates, in the first month of the scrap export ban, more than 20-25% of companies in the industry partially suspended their operations, and another 12-15% completely stopped their activities. Experts predict that by April-May of this year, about 4-4.5 thousand workers in the scrap collection industry will lose their jobs.
As reported, according to data from the State Customs Service, Ukrainian scrap collection companies increased their exports of ferrous metal scrap by 45.3% in 2025 compared to the previous year, to 448,700 tons, and in monetary terms by 44.5%, to $131.9 million. In 2024, exports of these products increased by 60.7% in physical terms and by 73.2% in monetary terms.
Due to such a sharp increase in exports, the Cabinet of Ministers introduced a zero quota for exports of these products for 2026, whereas previously there was an export duty of EUR 180/ton, which, at the same time, was not paid when exporting to the EU, with which Ukraine has a free trade zone.
According to customs data, in January this year, Ukraine reduced exports of ferrous metal scrap by 40.7% compared to January last year, to 9.3 thousand tons, and compared to the December 2025 figure of 68.5 thousand tons, the decline was sevenfold. In monetary terms, scrap exports in January decreased by 38% compared to January 2025, to $2.73 million.
Activity in the housing market in Ukraine has remained virtually unchanged for about a year and a half, with one of the key restraining factors being the mismatch between the type of housing most often put up for sale and what buyers are looking for, according to the National Bank of Ukraine’s (NBU) financial stability report for December 2025.
The regulator notes that the number of housing purchase and sale transactions in the first nine months of 2025 was only 7% higher than in the same period last year. According to the NBU’s assessment, advertisements more often feature large and new apartments, which are more expensive, while buyers often focus on more affordable options.
The NBU also indicates that the market is most active in Kyiv, Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv regions, which account for 39% of transactions in the first three quarters of 2025. Two-thirds of transactions involve apartments; the average area of an apartment purchased is 48 square meters, and that of a house is 70 square meters. The median age of purchased housing in Ukraine is estimated at 45 years, and in Kyiv at 20 years.
The Kernel agro-industrial group plans to supply Ukraine with oil products, fertilizers and other inventory items in order to overcome the shortage of resources for agricultural production in Ukraine, Ihor Stelmaschuk, head of the Kernel commercial department, said at the Fuel for Ukraine international conference.
“Together with partners, we will be able to establish long-term systematic work in the processes of production and supply of fertilizers. And in the future we will build a powerful diversified mechanism for providing Ukraine with oil products, we will meet the fuel needs of agricultural enterprises in a planned and cyclical way,” Stelmaschuk said on the Facebook page of the agrarian group.
According to him, now Kernel is exchanging experience and ideas with key players in the global oil products market.
“We decided on the urgent problems of a resource, logistics and infrastructure nature. We assessed the risks and trends in the fuel market. The country’s future annual demand for diesel fuel is estimated at 4 million tonnes, so Ukrainian consumers need to establish cooperation with Europe right now,” Stelmaschuk stressed.
According to him, due to the full-scale Russian invasion, Ukraine is forced to replace 100% of the pre-war sources of supplies of oil products, which is what Kernel plans to do.
In addition, the agricultural holding is working on projects to provide the agricultural sector with mineral fertilizers, their logistics and transshipment in ports. Kernel stated that it has already signed the first contracts for the supply of fertilizers for the sowing of winter wheat and rapeseed in the autumn, which is especially important given the likely global shortage of fertilizers in autumn 2022 and spring 2023.
Before the war, Kernel ranked first in the world in production of sunflower oil (about 7% of world production) and its export (about 12%), and was also the largest producer and seller of bottled sunflower oil in Ukraine. In addition, the holding was engaged in the cultivation and trade of other agricultural products.
American farmers plan to significantly increase sunflower crops this year due to supply disruptions amid Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg writes.
At the same time, a jump in agricultural prices to record levels for many years could increase motivation among farmers to plant more, said John Sandbakken, executive director of the National Sunflower Association. The USDA tentatively forecasts a 10% increase in sunflower acreage this year.
“I’m sure the increase will be more, almost 20%,” Sandbakken said in a telephone interview with Bloomberg.
Sunflower is used in a very wide range of products, from potato chips and sunflower oil for frying to bird food and shampoos. However, this year this commodity may be in short supply, as Ukrainian farmers are forced to reduce acreage and exports due to hostilities in the country. Ukraine is considered one of the world’s largest sunflower exporters.
Meanwhile, last year’s devastating drought in the northern Great Plains of the United States plays into the hands of American farmers this year, as it left excess nitrogen in the ground, which reduces fertilizer costs, Bloomberg notes.
The price of new crop sunflower in the US is about $34 per 100 pounds (about 45 kg), higher than the previous record price of $30.5 reached in 2008. Old crop sunflower prices are also nearing their highest since 2011, Sandbakken notes.
Velta US Inc (the United States), the parent company of Production and Commercial Company Velta LLC with assets for the extraction of titanium-containing ores in Novomyrhorod, Kirovohrad region, intends to increase supplies of ilmenite concentrate to the United States by 15-23% in 2022.
According to the company’s press release, Velta in January held a meeting of the advisory board formed in October 2021 to discuss further expanding the company’s presence in the U.S. market, taking into account the review of signed contracts for 2022.
“This year, the company will increase its supplies of ilmenite concentrate to the U.S. by 15-23%. This process is also facilitated by the shortage of high-titanium raw materials in the North American market, which Velta is able to fully satisfy. I believe that this is only the beginning, and the company has great growth prospects, especially in the U.S. market,” Matthew Murray, a member of the advisory board of Velta U.S. Inc., the former deputy assistant secretary of commerce for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said.
During the meeting, Andriy Brodsky, the CEO of Velta, voiced his support for the recently passed Section 6505 of the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act by the U.S. authorities, which calls for the U.S. Department of State to prepare a report on U.S.-Ukrainian cooperation in the context of reducing America’s dependence from titanium supplies from China and Russia, including due to an increase in supplies from Ukraine.
“Velta is ready to get involved in the process of developing mechanisms for cooperation between the United States and Ukraine regarding the supply and processing of titanium, as well as provide any necessary information and data for the formation of the Department of State report on the creation of new supply chains in the United States,” Brodsky said.
At the same time, it is noted that positive trends in Velta’s cooperation with American partners can become catalysts for the expansion of the existing mining complex and the launch of the Lekarevsky asset.
As reported, Velta US Inc created an advisory board on October 13, 2021 and is conducting a separation of mining and innovation business areas. At that time, it was announced that Matthew Murray, as the first member of the advisory board, would oversee the development of the company’s strategic vision and partnership in the U.S. market.
