EU imported 1.18 million tons of DRI in January-May

Import volumes increased by 3.7% y/y

In January-May 2024, the European Union increased imports of direct reduced iron (DRI) by 3.7% compared to the same period in 2023, to 1.18 million tons. This is evidenced by Eurostat data.

The main importers of direct reduced iron among the EU countries for the period are Italy, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands, in par

• Italy – 309.49 thousand tons (-29.4% y/y);
• Germany – 304.57 thousand tons (+7.3% y/y);
• Belgium – 105.79 thousand tons (-21.1% y/y);
• The Netherlands – 122.1 thousand tons (33.2 tons in January-May 2023).

Russia is the largest supplier of DRI to the EU. In January-May, Russian enterprises shipped 526.87 thousand tons of direct reduced iron to European consumers, down 5.9% y/y.

Italy is the main importer of Russian products, with 294.26 thousand tons, down 14% y/y. Belgium ranks second with 105.69 thsd tonnes (+2.6% y/y), and Spain is third with 42.65 thsd tonnes (+11.3% y/y).

Libya shipped 171.6 thsd tonnes of DRI to the EU in 5 months, down 27% y/y. Venezuela exported 64.38 thsd tonnes of the product to the EU (-28% y/y).

In May, the EU imported 169.85 thsd tonnes of DRI, down 16.5% y/y and 42.6% m/m. The Russian Federation supplied 95.4 thsd tonnes of DRI to European consumers during the month (+112% y/y, -46.1% m/m).

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2023, the EU reduced imports of direct reduced iron (DRI) by 11% compared to 2022, to 2.61 million tons. In December 2023, the volume of DRI supplies to European consumers increased by 19.9% compared to the previous month, and by 146.5% compared to December 2022, to 213.12 thousand tons. The largest supplier of DRI is Russia – 1.19 million tons (-21.3% y/y).