Exports of semi-finished products from Ukraine fell to a 10-month low in November

In November 2023, Ukrainian steelmaking companies reduced exports of semi-finished products by 36.3% compared to the previous month, to 70.15 thousand tons. Manufacturers’ export revenues for the month fell by 38.5% m/m – to $32.52 million. Thus, exports fell to a 10-month low. This is evidenced by the data of the State Customs Service.

Compared to November 2022, in November 2023, Ukrainian steel enterprises reduced exports of semi-finished products by 21.8% and revenues – by 38.7%.

In January-November 2023, Ukraine exported 1.1 million tons of semi-finished products worth $562.11 million. Export volumes of slabs and billets decreased by 39.5% compared to the same period in 2022, while revenue from shipments decreased by 51%.

In January-November 2023, the main importers of semi-finished products from Ukraine were Bulgaria (37% of shipments in monetary terms), Poland (23.2%) and Italy (9.9%).

Exports of semi-finished products from Ukraine have been gradually recovering since the beginning of 2023, and from the second quarter to October amounted to at least 100 thousand tons per month. The maximum volume of shipments reached 151.8 thousand tons in May. In November, exports fell back to below 100 thsd tonnes and returned to the lowest level since February 2023.

In November, Ukrainian steelmakers reduced steel production by 4.7% compared to September, to 545,000 tons. In January-November, 5.71 million tons of steel were produced (-7.3% y/y).

As GMK Center reportd earlier, in 2022 export of semi-finished products from Ukraine decreased by 72% compared to 2021 – to 1.89 million tons. In monetary terms, the export of semi-finished products fell by 70.9% y/y last year – to $1.19 billion. The main importers of Ukrainian semi-finished products in 2022 were Bulgaria (25.55%), Poland (13.97%) and Italy (12.13%).