EU imported 1.35 million tons of DRI in January-June

Import volumes increased by 0.4% y/y.

In January-June 2024, the European Union increased imports of direct reduced iron (DRI) by 0.4% compared to the same period in 2023, to 1.35 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, among others:

• Italy – 338.89 thousand tons (-30.7% y/y);
• Germany – 342.45 thousand tons (-1.1% y/y);
• Belgium – 105.81 thousand tons (-42.4% y/y);
• The Netherlands – 122.1 thousand tons (35.4 tons in January-June 2023).

Russia is the largest supplier of DRI to the European Union. In January-June, Russian companies shipped 579.17 kt of direct reduced iron to European consumers, down 14.4% y/y.

The main importer of Russian products is Italy – 314.26 thousand tons, down 18.8% y/y. Belgium is on the second place – 105.69 thsd tonnes (-30.8% y/y), and Spain is on the third place – 42.65 thsd tonnes (+11.3% y/y).

Libya shipped 245.43 thsd tonnes of DRI to the EU in 6 months, down 5.3% y/y. Venezuela exported 64.38 thsd tonnes of the product to the EU (-29.9% y/y).

In June, the EU imported 164.93 thsd tonnes of DRI, down 18.4% y/y and 2.9% m/m. The Russian Federation supplied 52.31 thsd tonnes to European consumers during the month (-55.2% y/y, -45.2% 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).