EU increased imports of semi-finished products from Ukraine by 22% y/y in January-February

In January-February 2024, the European Union (EU) increased imports of semi-finished products from Ukraine by 21.6% compared to the same period in 2023, to 180.85 thousand tons. Imports in monetary terms increased by 14.9% y/y – to $92.77 million. This is evidenced by Eurostat data.

The largest importers of semi-finished products of Ukrainian origin among the EU countries in the first two months were:

• Poland – 53.65 thousand tons (-34.6% y/y);
• Bulgaria – 68.3 thousand tons (+91.3%);
• Italy – 18.94 thsd tonnes (+89.5%);
• Greece – 15.54 thousand tons (+155%).

In February, imports of semi-finished products from Ukraine amounted to 100 thousand tons, up 8.9% month-on-month and 5.9% down y/y. Import costs increased by 15% m/m and decreased by 7.3% y/y – to $52.29 mln. Poland consumed 28 thsd tonnes (+8.9% m/m) of the product, Bulgaria – 37.9 thsd tonnes (+25% m/m), and Italy – 13.2 thsd tonnes (+131.3% m/m).

In January-February 2024, Ukraine exported 364.16 thousand tons of semi-finished products, up 3.4 times compared to the same period in 2023. In December, the steelmakers reduced exports of semi-finished products by 36.1% compared to the previous month, to 141.96 thousand tons. The figure increased by 2 times compared to February 2023. The main consumers are Bulgaria, Poland, and the Dominican Republic.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2023, the EU reduced imports of semi-finished products from Ukraine by 2.8% compared to 2022, to 1.03 million tons. Imports in monetary terms decreased by 23% y/y – to $532 million. In December, imports of semi-finished products from Ukraine amounted to 92.64 thousand tons, up 16.6% month-on-month and 62.7% y/y. Import costs increased by 23.2% mom and 30.5% y/y – to $46.1 mln.