Exports of semi-finished products from Ukraine in February increased by 49% m/m

In February 2025, Ukrainian metallurgical enterprises increased exports of semi-finished steel products by 48.9% compared to the previous month, to 120.08 thousand tons. At the same time, the figure fell by 15.4% compared to February 2024. This is according to GMK Center’s calculations based on the State Customs Service data.

More than 70% of the products were shipped to Bulgaria and Turkey – 56.62 thousand tons (+137.6% m/m) and 29.95 thousand tons (+45.6% m/m), respectively. Increased demand in these markets helped to compensate for the suspension of supplies to Egypt, which is one of the three largest export destinations.

In January-February 2025, Ukraine’s exports of semi-finished steel products decreased by 44.9% compared to the same period in 2024, to 200.7 thousand tons. The company shipped 80.46 thousand tons of products to Bulgaria, 50.53 thousand tons to Turkey and 21.93 thousand tons to Egypt.

Revenue from exports of semi-finished products decreased by 47% y/y – to $92.75 mln over 2 months, and in February – by 19.7% y/y, but increased by 51.7% m/m to $55.9 mln.

European slab prices rose in the first half of March. Producers took advantage of the strengthening of tariff protection in the European steel market. In mid-February, offers were at $480-485/t CFR Europe, while in mid-March they were at $500/t. In Italy, imported slabs went up from $490-520/t to $500-530/t CIF.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2024, Ukraine increased exports of semi-finished steel products by 56.7% compared to 2023, from 1.2 million tons to 1.89 million tons.

Export shipments increased due to the resumption of sea exports to distant markets, in particular to Egypt – 356.17 thousand tons (+1233% y/y). Bulgaria received 595.02 thsd tonnes of products (+30% y/y), and Turkey – 215.76 thsd tonnes. The main surge in exports occurred in the third quarter (641.9 thousand tons), which contributed to a significant increase in annual exports.

Ukrainian steelmakers’ export revenues increased by 52.4% to $927.55 million over the year.