The Kametstal plant, part of the Metinvest mining and metallurgical group (Kamensk, Dnipropetrovsk region) took into account the demands of the Ukrainian and European markets in 2025, expanding its range of continuously cast billets (CCB) by four items and its range of sought-after rolled products by three items.
According to the company, in 2025 Kametstal once again confirmed its leading position among Metinvest’s metallurgical enterprises in terms of the number of new products developed. Of the 11 new types of metal products brought to market, seven are the work of the Kametstal team.
It is specified that the achievements of the steelmakers of the converter shop include four new steel grades: 10U1, 20U, 26G2TR, and S355NL-1N with enhanced requirements for chemical composition, primarily in terms of sulfur and phosphorus content.
The casting of new steel grades into continuously cast billets with a cross-section of 335×400 mm has been mastered at continuous casting machine No. 2, where the reconstruction of electrical equipment was completed last year. This, in particular, contributed to the stabilization of the casting speed and, consequently, to the improvement of the cutting accuracy of billets, minimizing metal waste. The purpose of the new semi-finished products is the manufacture of round rolled products and their further processing into seamless pipes for critical applications.
The rolling mill team offered Ukrainian and European consumers three new product ranges that had not previously been produced at the plant. First and foremost, these are 8-32 mm diameter rebars for the Polish and Romanian markets, the production of which has been mastered on the 400/200 mill. Thanks to certification in accordance with the building standards of these countries, Metinvest has already shipped more than 100,000 tons of B500SP class rebar to Poland in 2025.
The ball mill has mastered the production of 100 mm diameter grinding balls with high surface and volume hardness, which corresponds to the fifth group. By experimentally determining the optimal heat treatment mode after rolling, specialists have achieved stable production of products with increased wear resistance, which is necessary for the stable and efficient operation of the company’s mining and processing plants.
Kametstal is part of the Metinvest Group.
The LNZ Group agricultural holding exported about 2 million tons of agricultural products in 2025, according to the press service of the agricultural holding, citing data from the director of LNZ Export, Volodymyr Humenyuk.
The agricultural holding noted that after acquiring the SEZ, LNZ Group became one of the leaders in oilseed processing, focusing on rapeseed and soybeans. Processed products are also sold on foreign markets, where the company has strengthened its position and established itself in the premium segments.
“About 90% of exports are carried out through the ports of Greater Odessa. Throughout the year, LNZ Group expanded its presence primarily in the EU markets, cooperating with both multinational corporations and local processors in Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Greece, etc. Products were also supplied to neighboring Poland, Hungary, and Romania, as well as to countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia,” said Gumenyuk.
Roman Franchuk, Director of Agricultural Production at LNZ Group, emphasized that, in general, the past season in the agricultural sector was difficult for LNZ Group due to weather conditions—a cold spring, a cool start to summer, and a prolonged drought reduced yields in the company’s fields in the central region. The situation was better in the Sumy cluster, but harvesting there was complicated by constant attacks from enemy UAVs. In the Vinnytsia region, where it rained, technical crops were harvested with high yields. In the Rivne cluster, due to prolonged rainfall and late soybean vegetation, harvesting is still ongoing, while early grains, in particular wheat, yielded about 6 t/ha.
The holding achieved planned yields on 200 ha of vegetable crops thanks to drip irrigation. They grew onions, peppers, tomatoes, rhubarb, cauliflower, and broccoli. Next year, they plan to expand the area under vegetables and add carrots and table beets. Raspberries and strawberries also showed high yields, and the area under them will also be increased.
“Taking into account the season, the company has revised its crop structure for 2026: it has increased the area under rapeseed to 11,000 hectares, under winter wheat to 17,000 hectares (12,000 hectares a year earlier), and has also expanded the area under peas to 3,000 hectares (usually 500 hectares). The area under sugar corn for the needs of the TEVITTA freezing plant remained unchanged at 750 hectares,” Franchuk summed up.
LNZ Group is a vertically integrated agricultural holding company with its central office in the village of Lebedyn, Cherkasy region. It specializes in the cultivation of grain, industrial, and berry crops, seed production, as well as the distribution of plant protection products (TM DEFENDA) and seeds (TM UNIVERSEED).
The holding’s land bank covers more than 80,000 hectares in the Cherkasy and Sumy regions. It has a network of elevators with a total capacity of about 170,000 tons, as well as modern storage facilities with an area of more than 50,000 square meters and refrigeration complexes with a capacity of 8,000 tons.
LNZ Group has a number of processing plants. The Lebedyn Seed Plant (corn division) specializes in the full cycle of corn seed processing with a capacity of up to 330 tons/day. The multifunctional seed plant cleans and calibrates wheat, soybeans, and sunflowers (up to 200 tons/day). The oilseed processing plant specializes in the production of soybean and rapeseed oil and meal.
The Tevitta frozen food plant specializes in flash freezing berries, vegetables, and fruits (IQF technology) with a capacity of 10,000 tons per year. The Shpola food factory (TM “Zhayvir”) produces snacks, halva, kozinaki, etc.
The main beneficiary of the group is Dmytro Kravchenko.
The Cabinet of Ministers has introduced a zero export quota for 2026 on the export of ferrous scrap (scrap metal), a strategic raw material for the metallurgical industry.
The relevant changes are set out in its Resolution No. 1795 “On the approval of lists of goods subject to licensing for export and import, and quotas for 2026” dated December 31, 2025.
According to the document, the quotas for goods whose export is subject to licensing are listed in Appendix 1. In particular, a zero quota has been set for ferrous metal waste and scrap; ferrous metal ingots for remelting (charge ingots) under code 7204 (according to the Ukrainian Classification of Goods for Foreign Economic Activity). Zero quotas are also set for copper waste and scrap under code 7404 00 and for electrical and electronic waste and scrap used primarily for the extraction of precious metals under codes 8549 21 00 00 and 8549 29 00 00.
Dmytro Kysilevsky, deputy chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Development, welcomed the government’s decision in a comment on his Facebook page, noting that strategically important raw materials should be processed in Ukraine, rather than being exported abroad without control, and should create jobs, added value, and tax revenues here.
According to the expert, this principle is one of the fundamentals of economic success, as proven by dozens of developed countries. Ukraine also has successful experience in implementing it: duties on sunflower seeds and a moratorium on roundwood once created entirely new industries and attracted billions in investments. And the recently introduced duties on soybeans and rapeseed have already significantly increased the volume of domestic processing, the deputy head of the parliamentary committee emphasized.
“The government’s decision to set zero export quotas for industrial timber and scrap from Ukraine for 2026 is an important example of the implementation of this principle. I would like to thank Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and Minister of Economy Oleksiy Sobolev for their position and understanding of national economic interests,” wrote the MP.
Kysilevsky explained that it is profitable for the state to keep all scrap metal within the country, since 1 ton of scrap metal processed in Ukraine into finished products generates approximately UAH 15,000 in taxes. On the other hand, 1 ton of exported scrap metal without customs duties actually generates no taxes (within 100 hryvnia per ton), since scrap metal procurement remains largely a “shadow” business.
He noted that scrap metal exports to the EU are de facto a scheme to circumvent customs duties, with losses to the budget amounting to about UAH 3.5 billion per year. Currently, the customs duty in the EU is 0, while in other countries it is EUR 180. Scrap metal from Ukraine is mainly re-exported outside the EU. If the 380,000 tons of scrap metal exported in 2025 were processed in Ukraine, the state would receive UAH 5.7 billion in taxes.
“From 2026, the EU will introduce the so-called CBAM ”carbon duty.” From the point of view of Ukraine’s accession to the EU and compliance with environmental requirements for industry, it is important to keep all scrap metal within the country. After all, scrap metal is a scarce raw material for smelting steel with lower CO2 emissions. Ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal is a strategic raw material for ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, which are important basic sectors of the economy. Of course, companies that want to profit from the uncontrolled export of raw materials are opposed to these decisions. But raw material exports are a niche for poor countries. Ukraine has abandoned this model, hopefully for good,” Kysilevsky emphasized.
The MP added that one of the tasks for the Verkhovna Rada in 2026 is to enshrine the decision to restrict the export of strategic raw materials in law. These restrictions should remain in force as long as external circumstances and the need for recovery require it.
As reported, in May 2025, the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine initiated the introduction of a licensing and quota regime for the export of ferrous metal scrap (scrap metal) with a zero quota. The relevant provision was included in the draft government resolution “On Amendments to Appendix 1 to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1481 of December 24, 2024,” which was then published by the Ministry of Economy for public discussion.
Deputy Director of the state-owned enterprise “Ukrpromzovnishchexpertiza” Serhiy Povazhnyuk, in an interview with telegraf.com.ua, said that Ukrainian metallurgical enterprises could increase steel production by 17% in 2026, to 8.9 million tons from 7.6 million tons in 2025, provided that the scrap metal shortage is overcome. At the same time, he noted that the Ukrainian metallurgical industry is experiencing an acute shortage of ferrous metal scrap, in particular due to the growth in the volume of this raw material being exported abroad.
According to his calculations, 1 ton of scrap metal, which is processed into metal products at Interpipe’s facilities, for which scrap is the main raw material, brings the state UAH 7,500 in taxes. In addition, 1 ton of scrap metal used at Metinvest Group’s plants generates about UAH 9,300 in tax revenues to budgets at all levels.
As Povazhnyuk emphasized, this is a direct benefit that the state receives by keeping all scrap metal in the country and processing it into steel. In addition, such processing has a multiplier effect on the entire economy, as it stimulates growth in related industries, such as the production of iron ore raw materials, coke, and ferroalloys.
“According to our data, in 2024, the largest exporting companies, which accounted for almost 90% of Ukrainian scrap metal exports, exported a total of 247,000 tons of raw materials abroad, paying a total of only UAH 12.3 million in taxes. Thus, the state received an average of UAH 50 in taxes for each ton of scrap metal exported. The official number of employees in these companies was only a few dozen people,” the expert said.
As reported, in January-November 2025, scrap metal collection companies in Ukraine increased their exports of ferrous metal scrap by 45.3% compared to the same period in 2024, from 261,578 tons to 380,165 tons.
In 2024, Ukraine’s scrap metal collection companies increased their exports of ferrous metal scrap by 60.7% compared to 2023, to 293,190 thousand tons from 182,465 thousand tons. In monetary terms, scrap exports for the year increased by 73.2% to $91.311 million from $52.723 million.
Earlier, Valentin Makarenko, chairman of the board of Interpipe Vtormet, said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine that ferrous metal scrap exports have always been and remain a threat to the Ukrainian metallurgical industry, as they exacerbate the shortage of this raw material on the domestic market. In addition, this problem is compounded by the fact that during the war, the area suitable for scrap collection is shrinking.
“At present, I do not see any other effective mechanisms for stabilizing the market and reducing scrap exports, except for an administrative ban on the export of this strategic raw material outside Ukraine at the state level,” the chairman of the board concluded.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has abolished quotas on the export of table salt for 2026, according to Government Resolution No. 1795 of December 31 on the list of goods whose export and import are subject to licensing and quotas.
According to the document, there will be no quotas on the export of table salt in 2026, whereas in previous periods, exports of this product were limited by zero quotas.
The resolution is published on the government’s website.
This week, the Ukrainian market continued to see a gradual decline in feed corn prices on a FOB Black Sea basis, according to the information and analytical agency APK-Inform.
“Prices remained under pressure throughout the week due to slow sea export rates as a result of systematic attacks by the Russian Federation on Ukraine’s port and energy infrastructure, which led to shipment disruptions, which, in turn, restrained importers’ demand,” analysts said.
At the same time, they noted that corn remains the most active export crop for Ukraine, but this has not been able to offset the factors putting pressure on prices.
Indicative bid/ask prices for feed corn with delivery in December-January from Black Sea ports fell by 1-3 USD/ton in less than a week under the influence of these factors to 210-218 and 214-222 USD/ton, respectively, according to APK-Inform.
The corn market is currently the most active segment of Ukrainian grain exports, ensuring stable port loading and constant demand from importers, according to the analytical cooperative “Pusk,” created within the framework of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council (VAR).
“Corn currently remains the only relatively active market segment. As of December 22, exports amounted to almost 1.5 million tons. Although these volumes are not record-breaking, shipments are stable, and it is corn that keeps most ports operating today,” analysts said.
According to their information, demand for corn on the world market remains high. Ukrainian corn remains in demand in EU countries, particularly in Spain and Italy, which are among the key buyers, as well as in Turkey.
At the same time, importers are closely monitoring the security situation in Ukraine.
“Importers are aware that the war is not expected to end quickly in the coming months and that risks to port infrastructure will remain. If exports from Ukraine are halted or significantly reduced, it will be difficult for the global market to quickly cover the possible deficit. American corn has already been contracted for January and almost entirely for February, so there are virtually no alternatives to Ukraine for supplies during this period,” experts said.
At the end of the week, spot corn prices rose to $207–208 per ton, while domestic contract prices rose to 9,800–9,850 UAH/ton.
“Further price dynamics will largely depend on the growth rate of logistics costs and security risks,” Pusk said.
