Imports of flat products to Ukraine increased by 16.8% y/y in January-August

In January-August 2024, Ukraine increased imports of flat products by 16.8% compared to the same period in 2023, to 664.29 thousand tons. This is evidenced by data from the State Customs Service.

Coated flat products accounted for the bulk of imports – 315.09 thousand tons (+6.7% y/y). Turkey is the key supplier of the products – 126.28 thousand tons. Poland accounted for another 43.27 thousand tons.

In addition, 233.33 thousand tons of hot-rolled flat products were imported, up 32.2% compared to January-August 2023. Turkish suppliers shipped 163.68 thousand tons of the relevant products to the Ukrainian market, while Italian suppliers shipped 17.42 thousand tons. The top three types of flat products imported by Ukrainian consumers include cold-rolled flat products – 52.21 thousand tons (+11.3% y/y). The largest volume was imported from Turkey – 35.79 thousand tons, and China – 18.25 thousand tons.

In August 2024, imports of flat products to Ukraine increased by 9.7% compared to the previous month and decreased by 5.2% compared to August 2023 – to 99.41 thousand tons.

Supplies of coated flat products decreased by 9.2% m/m and 33.2% y/y – to 43 thousand tonnes, hot-rolled flat products increased by 21.9% m/m and 69.2% y/y – to 39.07 thousand tonnes, and cold-rolled flat products increased by 152.5% m/m and 0.4% y/y.

The cost of imports of flat products for 8 months amounted to $732.87 million, up 9.1% compared to January-August 2023, and in August – $110.01 million (+9.9% m/m; -6.3% 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 – in the first half of last year, economic activity was low due to the hostilities. Consequently, imports were not at the top of the agenda.

Imports of flat products are expected to grow in the long term, especially during the post-war recovery period. Imports will be the main source of supply to meet 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.