The Ukrainian steel industry is going through very difficult times, and the likelihood that the sector will survive to participate in post-war reconstruction is low—not only because of the war, but also due to restrictions imposed by the European Union, said Oleksandr Vodoviz, head of the office of the CEO of the Metinvest Group, according to a correspondent for Interfax-Ukraine.
“In the steel industry, half of the companies have gone bankrupt. And not because of the war… Is the steel industry ready to ensure recovery? Let’s hope we live to see that recovery, because the way things are going, we won’t make it. We need to take a sober look at the truth: the plants have been bombed; we’re not talking about millions of dollars in losses, but billions,” he said at the fourth “Economic Truth” export forum in Kyiv this week.
In addition to the need to rebuild metallurgical plants after the war, Vodoviz also highlighted a staffing problem that was already acute before the war, when European companies were poaching Ukrainian workers. According to him, despite the losses, Metinvest is currently retaining its staff, but this remains a pressing issue.
“Will we be able to ensure recovery? If we rebuild the plants and find the people,” he noted.
Vodoviz also stated that one of the main issues for the Ukrainian metallurgical industry right now is to secure the same level of export quotas to the EU as existed in 2025, at the very least.
According to him, Ukraine’s metallurgical sector does not question the strategic goal of integrating into the EU’s internal market, but recent actions by Brussels—the introduction of the CBAM carbon tax and restricted quotas, which, despite promises, in no way take into account the fact of the war in Ukraine and the losses incurred by the Ukrainian industry—cast doubt on the mutual progress toward this goal.
A Metinvest representative clarified that the quotas currently amount to 40% of last year’s exports.
“Our number one problem is, of course, the strikes on steel mills; all our steel enterprises have been destroyed, are in ruins, and are not operating. Four days ago, Zaporizhstal was struck again—seven missiles. And in this situation, we are trying to explain to the Europeans that they should grant us quota reductions,” Vodoviz described the situation.
As previously reported, “Ukrmetallurgprom” criticized the EU’s decision to restrict imports of Ukrainian steel products, which had been supplied to Europe duty-free for the first three years following Russia’s full-scale aggression. The association believes that Ukraine currently poses no threat to European producers because, due to the war, steel production in the country initially fell from 40 million metric tons to 7.5 million metric tons, and now almost all steel plants have been shut down due to shelling.
The total transit of grains and oilseeds from Ukraine through neighboring Moldova, Slovakia, and Hungary increased by 46.5% in September compared to August, but the bulk of the increase came from Moldova and Slovakia, Ukraine’s Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotsky told reporters in Kyiv on Thursday.
According to his data, transit through Moldova rose by 59.7%—to 107,000 metric tons in September from 67,000 metric tons in August; through Slovakia—by 61.5%, to 336,000 metric tons from 208,000 metric tons; and through Hungary—by 8.5%, to 115,000 metric tons from 106,000 metric tons.
“An increase is possible; we’ll see how much. We’re working on all fronts,” Vysotsky emphasized.
At the same time, he refrained from making any forecasts.
“We’ll report the actual results every month,” the minister noted.
Regarding the prospects for opening a maritime grain corridor, the head of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy stated that “there are currently no signals from our partners that could be interpreted as providing any kind of planning horizon.”
“The situation remains unchanged—no more, no less,” Vysotsky said.
Earlier, the minister reported that in September, Ukraine managed to export 2.4 million metric tons of agricultural products, or 46% of what was supposed to be exported, including 1.4 million metric tons of grain (38%), 444,000 metric tons of oilseeds (83%), oil—311,000 metric tons, or 64%, and meal—280,000 metric tons, or 46% of the potential required exports.
EXPORTS, GRAIN, HUNGARY, MOLDOVA, SLOVAKIA, TRANSIT, UKRAINE
On October 15, 2026, the Ukrainian Energy Exchange (UEEX) held its first exchange auction for the sale of domestically produced natural gas for export, the exchange reported on its website.
“Ukrainian gas producers offered four lots totaling 135,706 MWh of natural gas, with delivery dates (gas days) ranging from October 26 to December 31, 2026,” the statement said.
As a result of the auction, 100% of the offered volume of natural gas was sold at a weighted average price of 69.01 EUR/MWh, excluding VAT.
Under the established mechanism, from March 1 to November 30, gas producers may sell up to 15% of the natural gas volume they delivered at entry points to Ukraine’s gas transmission system during the previous month for export purposes on a monthly basis.
Only non-resident companies may act as buyers at these specialized trading sessions.
As previously reported, in order to preserve domestic gas production and prevent its decline due to excess reserves, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted a decision on the temporary, controlled export of Ukrainian gas during the period from March 1 to November 30.
Under the decision, private gas production companies were granted the right to export up to 15% of their own monthly production. Proceeds from exports will be used to protect gas production enterprises from Russian attacks and to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities.
As explained by the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, given the current gas balance projections for 2026–2027, the implementation of this decision will not affect the ability to meet domestic market demand during the fall and winter months.
Currently, Ukraine’s underground storage facilities hold nearly 15.8 billion cubic meters of gas, which is 2.6 billion cubic meters above the minimum level and 1.2 billion cubic meters above the target forecast for natural gas.
Exports will take place from March 1 to November 30 of each calendar year. Natural gas exports will not take place from December 1 through February 28.
The decision also provides for mechanisms to promptly suspend exports in the event of a threat of a natural gas shortage or a crisis situation in the domestic market.
Ukrainian companies from the grain processing and food industries showcased their products at the SIAL Paris 2026 international trade show, which opened on October 17 in France and will run through October 21. The “Flour Millers of Ukraine” Association is participating in the exhibition as part of the collective Ukrainian pavilion, showcasing the production capabilities and export potential of the domestic grain processing industry.
As reported by the Ukrainian Flour Millers Association on social media, the participation of Ukrainian producers is organized with the support of the Swiss Import Promotion Program (SIPPO), initiated by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) as part of cooperation in the field of economic development.
Among the Ukrainian companies and brands represented by the Association at the exhibition were “Ukrprominvest-Agro,” YEDNIST’ GROUP, the Khmelnytskyi Pasta Factory (Ukrpasta), ALVIVA GROUP, the “Rumyanets” brand, Ekor.ua, “Zakhidny Bug,” and The Miller (Ukrainian Stone Mills).
Participants will showcase the capabilities of the Ukrainian food industry in the production of flour, pasta, grains, baked goods, and other grain-processing products.
The main goal of participating in SIAL Paris 2026 is to establish direct contacts with international importers, distributors, and retail chains; promote Ukrainian products on the global market; find new partners; and expand export markets.
For Ukrainian grain processing enterprises, participation in international trade shows is particularly important given the need to diversify foreign markets and increase exports of value-added products. Unlike the export of grain as a raw material, the supply of flour, cereals, pasta, and prepared food products allows the majority of the value added from processing to remain in Ukraine.
Ukrainian producers also have the opportunity to learn about new technologies in the food industry, modern packaging solutions, international requirements for product quality and safety, and trends in consumer demand.
According to data from the Ministry of Economy and Environment of Ukraine, released on October 15, 2026, the Ukrainian food industry is represented at SIAL Paris by 107 participants—exporting companies—as well as 15 business support organizations.
In total, Ukraine is represented by seven collective booths and 28 individual exhibits. Most Ukrainian producers operate in the segments of grocery products, confectionery, cookies, baked goods, and dairy products.
The “Flour Millers of Ukraine” Association is participating in the collective booth of Ukrainian business support organizations in Pavilion 1, Booth A128. It is organized by the Office for Entrepreneurship and Export Development and the national project “Diya.Business” with support from SIPPO.
SIAL Paris is one of the largest international food and beverage exhibitions, held every two years at the Paris Nord Villepinte exhibition complex. In 2026, approximately 8,000 exhibitors from 130 countries are expected to participate, and the number of trade visitors could reach 285,000.
The exhibition brings together food producers, international retail chains, importers, distributors, representatives of the restaurant industry, and investors. For Ukrainian companies, it serves as a platform for entering new markets and developing international commercial partnerships.
The “Flour Millers of Ukraine” Association is an industry association of Ukrainian producers of flour, grains, bread, confectionery and pasta products, grain snacks, cereals, and dry breakfast foods. The organization represents the interests of enterprises in the grain processing sector, promotes the development of production cooperation, the adoption of modern technologies, the improvement of product quality, and the expansion of exports. One of its key areas of activity is establishing international partnerships, participating in industry-specific exhibitions, and promoting Ukrainian grain processing products in foreign markets.
In January–September 2026, Ukraine increased its manganese ore exports by 3.76 times compared to the same period last year—to 36,598 thousand metric tons from 9,739 thousand metric tons, according to data from the State Customs Service.
In monetary terms, exports nearly quadrupled—to $6.393 million compared to $1.615 million over the first nine months of 2025. Thus, foreign exchange earnings increased by 296%, while the physical volume of shipments rose by 276%.
As of the end of the first nine months of this year, Ukraine has already exceeded the volume of manganese ore exports for the entire year 2025 by 64.3%. Last year, 22,281 thousand metric tons of this raw material were shipped abroad, worth $3.599 million.
At the same time, export revenue for January–September 2026 exceeded the total for all of last year by 77.6%.
The estimated average customs value of exported manganese ore for the first nine months of this year was approximately $175 per metric ton, compared to $166 per metric ton for the same period in 2025. Thus, the increase in foreign exchange earnings was driven primarily by growth in the physical volume of exports.
September was the busiest month of the current year, with Ukraine shipping 8.44 thousand metric tons of manganese ore abroad. This is 2.4 times more than in August and nearly 4.9 times more than in September of last year.
In 2025, Slovakia was the largest foreign market for Ukrainian manganese ore, accounting for 99.22% of export revenue. Poland accounted for another 0.78% of revenue.
The recovery in exports is taking place against the backdrop of a gradual resumption of manganese concentrate production in Ukraine. Specifically, the Pokrovsk Mining and Processing Plant produced 63.9 thousand metric tons of concentrate in 2025 following a shutdown in 2024.
In its previously approved production plans for 2026, the plant projected a 3.44-fold increase in concentrate output—to 220,000 metric tons. Actual fulfillment of this annual plan currently requires confirmation based on the results of the reporting period.
The Pokrovsky Mining and Processing Plant is one of the leading producers of manganese ore in Ukraine. The company engages in open-pit mining of oxide, carbonate, and oxide-carbonate ores, as well as their beneficiation and the production of manganese concentrate and sinter. The main domestic consumers of these products are enterprises in the ferroalloy industry.
Imports of goods into Ukraine from January through September 2026 increased by 25% in monetary terms compared to the same period in 2025—from $60.1 billion to $75.1 billion, while for all of 2025 they totaled $84.8 billion, according to data from the Telegram channel of the State Customs Service (SCS) of Ukraine.
At the same time, exports remain at the level of the same period in 2025—$29.6 billion for the first nine months of 2026, compared to $29.5 billion last year ($40.3 billion for all of 2025).
“The tax burden per 1 kg of taxable imports in January–September 2026 amounted to $0.62/kg,” the agency added.
As in 2025, the largest sources of imports to Ukraine were China—$22.6 billion, Poland—over $7.1 billion, and Germany—over $4.9 billion.
Exports from Ukraine, also unchanged compared to 2025, were highest to Poland—$3.7 billion, Turkey—over $2.2 billion, and Germany—$2.1 billion.
Of the total volume of goods imported in January–September 2026, more than 73% fell into the categories of machinery, equipment, and transportation—nearly $34.4 billion (customs clearance of these goods generated nearly 191.5 billion UAH in revenue for the budget, or 29% of customs revenue), fuel and energy products—over $10.8 billion (with over 224.9 billion UAH paid, or 34% of customs revenue), as well as chemical industry products—over $10 billion (with 83 billion UAH paid upon clearance, or 13% of customs revenue).
As for the top three most exported goods from Ukraine, the categories remain unchanged compared to 2025: food products—$17 billion; metals and metal products—$2.9 billion; and machinery, equipment, and transportation—$2.7 billion.
The State Tax Service added that during customs clearance of exports subject to export duties, nearly 1.5 billion UAH was paid to the budget from January through September 2026.
