EU imported 1.91 million tons of DRI in January-August

Imports increased by 6% y/y.

In January-August 2024, the European Union increased the import of direct reduction iron (DRI) by 6% compared to the same period in 2023 – up to 1.91 million tons. Eurostat data show this.

Italy, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands are the main importers of direct reduction iron among the EU countries according to the results of the period, in particular:

• Italy – 489.58 thousand tons (-19.7% y/y);
• Germany – 417.36 thousand tons (-4.1% y/y);
• Belgium – 189.95 thousand tons (-26.4% y/y);
• Spain – 162.89 thousand tons (+1.1% y/y);
• The Netherlands – 261.22 thousand tons (66.65 thousand tons in January-August 2023).

The largest supplier of DRI to the European Union is Russia. According to the results of January-August, Russian enterprises shipped 718.83 thousand tons of direct reduction iron to European consumers, which is 17.9% less y/y.

The main importer of Russian products is Italy – 368.01 thousand tons, which is 25.8% less y/y. In second place is Belgium – 158.51 thousand tons (-22.9% y/y), and in third place – Poland – 99.72 thousand tons (+202.2% y/y).

Libya shipped 385.95 thousand tons of DRI to the EU in 8 months, increasing the figure by 23% y/y. Venezuela exported 182.49 thousand tons of corresponding products to the European Union (+42.5% y/y).

In August, the EU imported 217.9 thousand tons of DRI, which is 16.6% more y/y and 37.3% less m/m.

At the same time, there is a change in the structure of suppliers. In August, the Russian Federation exported 52.81 thousand tons of raw materials to the EU (-17.3% y/y; -39.2% m/m), while Libya – 47.5 thousand tons (+82 .4% y/y; -48.9% m/m). Venezuela did not supply DRI to the EU, while 118.12 thousand tons were shipped in the previous month, and 34.56 thousand tons in August 2023.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2023, the EU reduced imports of direct reduction 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 year per month, and by 146.5% by December 2022 – to 213.12 thousand tons. The largest supplier of DRI is Russia – 1.19 million tons (-21.3% y/y).