In January-August 2025, Ukrainian enterprises increased exports of ferrous metal scrap by 59.3% compared to the same period last year, from 177,654 thousand tons to 283,055 thousand tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), 34,713 thousand tons were exported in August, 44,842 thousand tons in July, a record 47,691 thousand tons in June, 28.6 thousand tons in May, 46,321 thousand tons in April, 39,908 thousand tons in March, 25,284 thousand tons in February, and 15,696 thousand tons in January.
In monetary terms, scrap exports in January-August increased by 49.7% to $85.400 million from $57.041 million.
During this period, scrap exports were formally carried out mainly to Poland (82.1% of shipments in monetary terms), Greece (6.48%), and Italy (4.37%).
In the first eight months of this year, Ukraine imported 34 tons of scrap worth $13,000 from Poland (53.85%), the Seychelles (30.77%), and the British Virgin Islands (7.69%).
As reported, due to the sharp increase in exports of strategic raw materials from Ukraine, the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture initiated the introduction of a licensing and quota regime for scrap exports with a zero quota. A public discussion of the draft resolution is currently underway. Its implementation is expected to contribute to the smooth operation of Ukraine’s metallurgical and foundry industries, as well as to stabilize the situation with regard to meeting the demand for scrap on the domestic market of Ukraine.
In 2024, Ukraine’s scrap collection companies increased their exports of ferrous metal scrap by 60.7% compared to 2023, from 182,465 thousand tons to 293,190 thousand tons. In monetary terms, scrap exports for the year increased by 73.2% to $91.311 million from $52.723 million.
In January–August of this year, Ukraine increased its ferroalloy exports in physical terms by 39.7% compared to the same period last year, from 52,806 thousand tons to 73,774 thousand tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), in monetary terms, ferroalloy exports increased by 29.5% to $82.611 million.
The main exports were to Poland (28.92% of shipments in monetary terms), Algeria (23.13%), and Turkey (19.31%).
In addition, in the first eight months of 2025, Ukraine imported 27,270 thousand tons of this product, a decrease of 59.7% compared to the same period in 2024. In monetary terms, imports fell by 54.1% to $51.843 million. Imports were mainly from Norway (22.96%), Kazakhstan (11.81%), and France (10.72%).
As reported, the Pokrovsky Mining and Processing Plant (PGZK, formerly Ordzhonikidze Mining and Processing Plant) and the Marganetsky Mining and Processing Plant (MGZK, both in Dnipropetrovsk region), which are part of the Privat Group, stopped mining and processing raw manganese ore in late October-early November 2023, while NZF and ZZF stopped smelting ferroalloys. In the summer of 2024, ferroalloy plants resumed production at a minimum level.
PGZK and MGZK did not produce any products in 2024, while in 2023, PGZK produced 160.31 thousand tons of manganese concentrate, and MGZK was idle.
In 2024, Ukraine reduced its exports of ferroalloys in physical terms by 4.45 times compared to 2023, to 77,316 thousand tons from 344,173 thousand tons. in monetary terms, exports fell 3.4 times – to $88.631 million from $297.595 million. At the same time, the main exports were to Poland (27.40% of supplies in monetary terms), Turkey (21.53%), and Italy (19.82%).
In addition, last year Ukraine imported 82,259 thousand tons of this product compared to 14,203 thousand tons in 2023 (a 5.8-fold increase). In monetary terms, imports increased 3.3 times, from $42.927 million to $140.752 million. Imports were mainly from Poland (32.71%), Norway (19.55%), and Kazakhstan (13.90%).
The business of ZZF, NZF, Stakhanov ZF (located at NKT), Pokrovsky and Marganetsky GZK was organized by PrivatBank prior to the nationalization of the financial institution. The Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant is controlled by the EastOne group, created in the fall of 2007 as a result of the restructuring of the Interpipe group, as well as the Privat group.
In January-August 2025, imports of zinc and zinc products decreased by 3% to $37.093 million (in August – $3.889 million).
Zinc exports during this period increased to $888,000, which is more than four times higher than in the same period of 2024 ($201,000).
Pure zinc metal is used to recover precious metals, protect steel from corrosion, and for other purposes.
In January-August 2025, Ukraine increased imports of aluminum and aluminum products by 17.6% to $344.293 million (in August – $44.034 million).
Aluminum exports increased by 19.2% to $98.922 million (in August – $13.215 million).
Aluminum is widely used as a structural material. The main advantages of aluminum are its lightness, malleability, corrosion resistance, high thermal conductivity, and the non-toxicity of its compounds.
In particular, these properties have made aluminum extremely popular in the manufacture of kitchen utensils, aluminum foil in the food industry, and for packaging. The first three properties have made aluminum the main raw material in the aviation and aerospace industries (recently, it has been replaced by composite materials, primarily carbon fiber). After construction and packaging production—aluminum cans and foil—the largest consumer of metal is the energy industry.
In January-August 2025, Ukraine increased imports of copper and copper products by 32.2% year-on-year – to $122.747 million.
Exports during this period increased by 5.7% to $61.542 million.
In August, imports amounted to $12.759 million, while exports amounted to $6.105 million.
Copper is widely used in electrical engineering, in the manufacture of pipes, in the creation of alloys, in medicine, and in other industries.
Ukrainian sunflower meal lost ground to Argentine sunflower meal on the European market for the first time in a long time, while rapeseed meal supplies reached a record low for five seasons, according to the information and analytical agency APK-Inform.
The agency cited data from the European Commission, according to which in July-August (2025-2026 MY for the EU) the European Union imported 118,000 tons of Argentine sunflower meal, accounting for 49% of total imports of this product, while the share of Ukrainian meal was 40%, or 96,000 tons.
According to Ukrainian statistics, in July, exports of Ukrainian sunflower meal to the EU halved, amounting to just over 50 thousand tons, and in August, according to preliminary estimates by APK-Inform, the smallest volume of this product since October 2021 was exported to the EU—only about 20-25 thousand tons.
Analysts recalled that in the 2024/25 season, Ukrainian sunflower meal accounted for 62% of total imports of this product, while Argentine sunflower meal accounted for 29%.
“The reduction in supplies in July-August this year is due to a decrease in sunflower processing by Ukrainian factories in the summer and, accordingly, a lower supply of meal. At the same time, the seasonally high supply of rapeseed meal on the European market became an additional limiting factor,” the experts explained.
Currently, analysts emphasized, Ukrainian rapeseed meal supplies to the EU are at their lowest level in more than five seasons (excluding 22/23 MY), which is due to the shift in rapeseed harvesting dates in Ukraine, low sales of oilseeds by farmers, and very low processing in July.
According to the European Commission, in the first two months of the 2025/26 season, the EU purchased only 1.6 thousand tons of rapeseed meal from Ukraine, or 1.3% of total imports. Currently, Canadian rapeseed meal dominates EU imports with a share of 84%. Last season, during the same period, the EU imported mainly Ukrainian products, which accounted for 82% of imports, according to APK-Inform.
