Imports of flat products to Ukraine increased by 11.3% y/y in January-September

In January-September 2024, Ukraine increased imports of flat products by 11.3% compared to the same period in 2023, to 735.79 thousand tons. This is evidenced by data from the State Customs Service.

Coated flat products accounted for the bulk of imports – 351.45 thousand tons (+6% y/y). Turkey is the key supplier of the products – 140.16 thousand tons. Poland accounted for another 48.67 thousand tons.

In addition, 252.56 thousand tons of hot-rolled flat products were imported, up 14.8% compared to January-September 2023. Turkish suppliers shipped 181.2 thousand tons of the product to the Ukrainian market, while Italian suppliers shipped 17.7 thousand tons. The top three types of flat products imported by Ukrainian consumers include cold-rolled flat products – 59.54 thousand tons (+17.9% y/y). The largest volume was imported from Turkey – 42.68 thousand tons, and China – 18.42 thousand tons.

In September of this year, imports of flat products to Ukraine decreased by 28.1% compared to the previous month and by 22.6% compared to September 2023, to 71.5 thousand tons.

Supplies of coated flat products decreased by 15.4% m/m and equaled 36.4 kt in September 2023, while hot-rolled flat products decreased by 50.8% m/m and 55.8% y/y – to 19.23 kt, and cold-rolled flat products increased by 23.5% m/m and 102.6% y/y – to 7.33 kt.

Imports of flat products amounted to $814.63 million in 9 months, up 5.5% compared to January-September 2023, and $81.76 million in September (-25.7% m/m, -18.8% y/y).

The sharp increase in imports is due to the destruction of Mariupol steel mills that specialized in flat products. In addition, there is the impact of a low comparison base.

Imports of flat products are expected to increase in the long term, especially during the post-war recovery period. Imports will become the main source to satisfy domestic demand. In the short term, imports will stabilize at a certain level, given the existing logistical constraints in the war.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2023, Ukraine increased imports of flat steel products by 93.2% compared to 2022, up to 908.2 thousand tons. Import costs increased by 48.4% y/y – to $1.03 billion. The largest suppliers of products were Turkey, Romania, Slovakia and China.