The Zaporizhstal steelworks in Zaporizhia is calling for restrictions on exports of scrap metal, a strategic raw material for the steel industry, and a moratorium on rail tariff increases.
According to a press release issued by the company on Monday, this was announced by Taras Shevchenko, acting CEO of Zaporizhstal, part of the Metinvest Group, during a working visit to Zaporizhia by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko.
Svyrydenko visited metallurgical, machine-building, and food industry enterprises. During the meeting with business representatives, current issues and expectations from state policy in the economic sphere were discussed.
According to the minister, more than 8% of Ukraine’s industrial production is concentrated in the Zaporizhzhia region, and despite the temporary occupation of 80% of the region and constant hostile attacks on the city, it produces almost 20% of the country’s metallurgical industry and about 7% of its machine-building industry.
Zaporizhstal, Motor Sich, Ivchenko-Progress, an automobile plant, and small and medium-sized businesses continue to operate in the city. Their representatives joined an open dialogue with the government’s economic team. Businesses voiced challenges and offered their own solutions to support manufacturers.
Shevchenko emphasized the urgent need to preserve duty-free trade with the EU for metallurgists and to postpone the introduction of the cross-border carbon adjustment mechanism (CBAM) in Ukraine, since national producers, unlike their European counterparts, do not have access to investments and modernization funds.
“The introduction of the CBAM in 2026 (…) will make economic recovery and the implementation of plans to modernize and decarbonize production in Ukraine impossible. Assessing the impact of the CBAM on the Ukrainian economy, experts expect GDP to fall by 4.8%, or $8.7 billion, in 2026 alone. For the same reason, the economy could lose up to $2.8 billion in tax revenues and more than 73,000 jobs in the manufacturing industry,” said the acting CEO of Zaporizhstal, citing the results of a study by CMD Ukraine.
A particularly painful issue is the mass export of Ukrainian scrap metal abroad, which causes an acute shortage of raw materials important for steel production. Shevchenko firmly believes that scrap metal can and will work better for the Ukrainian economy if it remains in the country. One ton of scrap metal for export provides minimal tax deductions and up to $350 in foreign exchange earnings, while one ton of steel from scrap metal brings in 15,000 hryvnia in taxes and $1,200 in foreign exchange earnings.
According to him, scrap metal is an indispensable raw material for the production of raw steel and metal products. The shortage of scrap forces metallurgists to pour cast iron into ingots and sell this low-margin semi-finished product. In four months, Zaporizhstal alone will offer the market pig iron with low added value instead of 300,000 tons of highly processed metal products.
“For the Ukrainian economy, the total negative effect will be approximately $75 million in lost foreign exchange earnings,” the top manager emphasized.
In addition, the CEO of the metallurgical plant also emphasized the need to establish a moratorium on increasing railway transportation tariffs. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the share of logistics in the cost of metal products has quadrupled, as mining and metallurgical companies have switched to rail transport, and the cost of the service itself has increased by up to 60%. Railway logistics is critical for metallurgists: to produce 1 ton of metal, 3 tons of raw materials must be transported. Therefore, exporting 1 ton of metal requires transporting 4 tons by rail.
“Even a slight increase in rail tariffs leads to a significant increase in the cost of production, which becomes uncompetitive in export markets. In this case, exports lose their economic meaning,” emphasized the head of Zaporizhstal.
In turn, Svyrydenko assured the meeting participants of the importance of dialogue and attention to each of the requests voiced by the business community, for which the government’s economic team is seeking solutions. In particular, these include resolving the scrap metal shortage, introducing new financial instruments to support enterprises recovering from the war, improving the 15% compensation program, and so on.
The head of the Ministry of Economy thanked Zaporizhzhia businesses for their resilience, investments, and development despite all the challenges caused by the war.
In January-April this year, Zaporizhzhia Iron and Steel Works “Zaporizhstal” increased its rolled steel output by 2.5% year-on-year to 865.7 thousand tons from 844.8 thousand tons.
According to the company’s press release on Thursday, steel production for the period amounted to 1 million 18.9 thousand tons (1 million 9.3 thousand tons in January-April 2024), and pig iron production amounted to 1 million 132.4 thousand tons (1 million 50.4 thousand tons).
In April, Zaporizhstal produced 282.8 thousand tons of iron, 270.6 thousand tons of steel, and shipped 228.3 thousand tons of rolled products.
As reported, 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, pig iron – by 14.2% to 3 million 106.3 thousand tons.
“In 2023, Zaporizhstal increased its rolled steel output by 57.2% compared to 2022, 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.
Zaporizhstal Iron and Steel Works has allocated UAH 49 million for major repairs and maintenance of the hot rolling shop of the heating pit group No. 14.
According to a press release, one of the key conditions for the production of high-quality rolled steel is the reliability of equipment. Therefore, the plant systematically monitors the serviceability of the units and carries out both maintenance and large-scale repairs.
“Right now, the overhaul of the heating well group No. 14 is underway in the Hot Strip Mill. The scope of work is considerable. First, the specialists restored the lining of the chamber walls, support arches, hollows and inclined passes, vaults and regenerator nozzles. At present, they are gradually repairing elements of mechanical, electrical, power, and automation equipment and restoring elements of the heating wells’ frame,” the press release states.
In addition, it is noted that all the work is being carried out by specialists from various departments of the plant and contractors. In particular, refractory workers and mechanics of the hot rolling shop, repairmen of the Central Rolling Mill and Central Electrical and Mechanical Repair Center, specialists of the Automation Department and the Central Electrical Laboratory.
The equipment upgrade will ensure energy-efficient and uninterrupted operation.
“Zaporizhstal is a joint venture of Metinvest Group, whose main shareholders are System Capital Management (71.24%) and Smart Steel Limited (23.76%).
Zaporizhzhia-based Zaporizhstal Iron and Steel Works increased its rolled steel output by 3.5% year-on-year to 636.7 thousand tons from 615.3 thousand tons in January-March this year.
According to the company’s press release on Wednesday, steel production for the period amounted to 748.4 thousand tons (731 thousand tons in January-March 2014), and pig iron production – 849.6 thousand tons (785.4 thousand tons).
In March, Zaporizhstal produced 296.6 thousand tons of pig iron (265.4 thousand tons in February), 270.1 thousand tons of steel (235.3 thousand tons) and shipped 226 thousand tons of rolled products (195.7 thousand tons).
As reported, in 2024, Zaporizhstal increased its rolled products 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 steel output by 57.2% compared to 2022, 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.
Zaporizhzhia-based Zaporizhstal Iron and Steel Works has successfully passed an audit for compliance of its hot-rolled and cold-rolled products with the requirements of EN 10025 and EN 10130 standards, the company announced on Tuesday.
According to a press release, on February 24 and 25, 2025, an auditor from Technical and Management Services LLC, a corporate partner of the certification company TÜV ZÜD, inspected the manufacturing technology of Zaporizhstal’s hot-rolled and cold-rolled products.
To confirm that the mechanical properties of rolled products meet the requirements of the standards, metal samples were taken and tested at the plant’s product testing and certification center. The auditor reviewed the technical and organizational documentation and highly appreciated the systematic work aimed at improving product quality and implementing new approaches to customer focus.
Based on the audit results, Zaporizhstal confirmed the compliance of its hot-rolled and cold-rolled products with the requirements of EN 10025-1:2004, Annex ZA, Construction Regulation 305/2011/EU and EN 10130.
In addition, the scope of the certificate has been extended to cover hot-rolled products made from steel grades suitable for cold forming and bending. This will open up opportunities for the sale of such rolled products in accordance with the requests of European consumers.
At the same time, it is reminded that Zaporizhstal has been operating in accordance with the requirements of EN 10025-1: 2004 and EN 10130: 2006. The plant has also been certified and regularly confirms its compliance with the requirements of international standards for the quality management system IS0 9001 since 2003, the environmental management system ISO 14001 and the occupational health and safety management system ISO 45001 since 2008, the statement said.
“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.
Zaporizhzhia-based Zaporizhstal Iron and Steel Works increased its rolled steel output by 4.6% year-on-year to 413.3 thousand tons from 395.3 thousand tons in January-February this year.
According to the company’s press release on Tuesday, steel production for the period amounted to 478.3 thousand tons (471.1 thousand tons in January-February 2014), and pig iron – 553.1 thousand tons (512.3 thousand tons).
In February, Zaporizhstal produced 265.4 thousand tons of iron, 235.3 thousand tons of steel, and shipped 195.7 thousand tons of rolled products.
As reported, 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, pig iron – by 14.2% to 3 million 106.3 thousand tons.
“In 2023, Zaporizhstal increased its rolled steel output by 57.2% compared to 2022, 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.
