In January-February this year, Ukrainian enterprises reduced their consumption of rolled metal products by 24.95% year-on-year, down to 370.2 thousand tons from 493.3 thousand tons.
According to a press release issued by Ukrmetallurgprom on Thursday, 171.2 thousand tons, or 46.25% of the domestic rolled steel market, were imported during this period.
According to Ukrmetallurgprom, in January-February 2024, steel companies produced 900 thousand tons of rolled metal products (152.5% compared to the same period in 2023), of which, according to the State Customs Service of Ukraine, about 701 thousand tons, or 77.9%, were exported. In January-February 2023, the share of exports amounted to 38.5% (227 thousand tons with a total production of 590 thousand tons of rolled metal products).
The share of semi-finished products in export deliveries in January-February 2024 amounted to 47.50%, which is the same as in January-February 2023 (47.58%). The share of flat products in export deliveries significantly exceeded the figure for January-February 2023 (38.66% and 28.19%, respectively), while the share of long products was significantly lower than in January-February 2023 (13.84% in 2024 vs. 24.23% in 2023).
“In January-February 2024, the domestic market capacity amounted to 370.2 thousand tons of rolled steel, of which 171.2 thousand tons or 46.25% were imported. In January-February 2023, the domestic market capacity amounted to 493.3 thousand tons, of which 130.3 thousand tons, or 26.41%, were imported. Thus, in January-February 2024, there was a decrease in the domestic market capacity by 24.95% compared to two months of 2023, with a simultaneous increase in the share of the import component by 19.84%,” the press release states.
The structure of imports in January-February 2024 is still characterized by a significant dominance of flat products over long products (85.05% and 13.67%, respectively); in January-February 2023, the dominance of flat products over long products was also significant (77.97% and 20.49%, respectively).
According to the State Customs Service, the main export markets for Ukrainian rolled steel products in January-February this year were the European Union (80.6%), the rest of Europe (7.3%) and Africa (3.9%).
Among metallurgical importers, the first place was occupied by other European countries (42.9%), the second by the EU-27 (39.9%), and the third by Asian countries (16.9%).
As reported, Ukraine’s rolled steel market grew 2.19 times in 2023 compared to 2022, to 3 million 505.6 thousand tons. The company imported 1 million 118.6 thousand tons, or 31.91% of the domestic rolled steel consumption market.
In 2023, Ukrainian steelmakers produced 5.37 million tons of rolled metal products (100.4% compared to 2022), of which, according to the UAVtormet Expert and Scientific Council, about 2.99 million tons, or 55.6%, were exported.
In 2022, the share of exports amounted to 81.7% (4.37 million tons with a total production of 5.35 million tons of rolled metal products).
The share of semi-finished products in export deliveries in 2023 was 40.30%, which is significantly lower than in the same period in 2022 (43.45%). The share of flat products in exports for the year was also significantly higher than a year earlier (40.41% and 36.34%, respectively). At the same time, the share of long products is comparable to the figure for the previous similar reporting period (19.53% in 2023 vs. 20.21% in 2022).
In 2023, the domestic market capacity amounted to 3,505.6 thousand tons of rolled steel, of which 1,118.6 thousand tons, or 31.91%, were imported. In 2022, the domestic market capacity amounted to 1598.6 thousand tons, of which 621.6 thousand tons, or 38.88%, were imported. Thus, in 2023, there was an increase in the domestic market capacity by 119.29% compared to 2022, while the share of the import component decreased by 6.98%.
The structure of imports last year was still characterized by a significant dominance of flat products over long products (76.08% and 23.87%, respectively); in 2022, the dominance of flat products over long products was also significant (68.69% and 30.41%, respectively).
According to UAVtormet, the main export markets for Ukrainian steel products in 2023 were the EU (82%) and the rest of Europe (7.5%).
Among metallurgical importers in 2023, the first place was occupied by other European countries (42.4%), the second by the EU-27 (37.3%), and the third by Asian countries (18.2%).
