In 2021 iron & steel sector generated one third of Ukraine’s exports

Iron & Steel industry is a fundamental sector of economy in Ukraine. From year to year, it creates great economic impact. According to estimations of GMK Center, in 2020 its aggregate share in GDP accounted for 9.5%, or $13.7 billion. Aggregate share included GDP generated by iron & steel companies themselves (4.4%), supply chain (4.0%) and consumer spending of workers (1.1%).

One third of Ukraine’s exports is generated by the iron & steel sector. In 2021 Ukrainian iron & steel companies received $22.2 bln of export revenues.

Iron & Steel industry is also deemed basic because, among other things, iron & steel companies are the largest consumers in other sectors. In 2021, iron & steel companies accounted for 119.4 million tonnes of railway traffic (38.0% of the total volume) and 57.4 million tonnes (37.4%) of cargoes handled at Ukrainian sea ports. Iron & steel companies used 28.9 kWh of electricity in 2021 (18.7% of total consumption in Ukraine).

The sector is also the largest investor. In 2021, iron & steel companies invested $2.0 bln, i.e. one third of total industrial investments. This is how the iron & steel sector contributes to development of high value-added industries, namely by consuming around 9% of machinery output in Ukraine ($1.0 billion).

In 2022 the iron & steel sector faced big problems caused by the Russia-Ukraine war. Losses will inevitably affect economic results in 2022 and beyond. But we believe that iron & steel industry will remain a basic strategic sector of Ukrainian economy, a large investor, and a responsible taxpayer in the future.