EU increased iron ore imports from Ukraine by 9.2% m/m in October

In October 2023, the European Union increased imports of iron ore from Ukraine by 9.2% compared to the previous month – to 1.21 million tons. Imports of raw materials in monetary terms increased by 8.6% y/y – to €136.01 million. This is evidenced by Eurostat data.

Compared to October 2022, European steelmakers increased iron ore imports from Ukraine by 46.7% in physical terms in October 2023. The supply of raw materials in monetary terms increased by 13.1%.

In January-October, the European Union imported 11.58 million tons of iron ore from Ukraine, which is 0.4% less than in the same period in 2022. European steelmakers’ spending on imports during this period decreased by 16.6% y/y – to €1.35 billion.

The largest importers of Ukrainian iron ore among the EU countries in January-October 2023 were:

• Czech Republic – 3.59 million tons (-6% compared to January-October 2022);
• Poland – 2.89 million tons (-7.3% y/y);
• Slovakia – 4.19 million tons (+23% y/y);
• Hungary – 218.5 thousand tons (-56.2% y/y).

In October, Ukraine shipped 349.52 thsd tonnes of iron ore to the Czech Republic (-8.1% m/m, -30.4% y/y), 377.45 thsd tonnes – to Poland (+10.4% m/m, +251.5% y/y), and 408.7 thsd tonnes – to Slovakia (+22.2% m/m, +180.3% y/y). Hungary imported 0.005 thsd tonnes of Ukrainian iron ore in September.

As GMK Center reported, Ukrainian GMK in January-October 2023 shipped for export 14.18 million tons of iron ore for $1.47 billion. Shipment volumes decreased by 36.8% compared to January-October 2022, and revenue decreased by 46.9% y/y.

The major iron ore producers in Ukraine include: Ingulets GOK, Kryvyi Rih Iron Ore Plant, Poltava Mining, Northern GOK, Central GOK, Southern GOK, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, Sukha Balka GOK and Zaporizhzhia Iron Ore Plant.