Imports of flat products to Ukraine increased by 8.9% y/y in January-October

In January-October 2024, Ukraine increased imports of flat products by 8.9% compared to the same period in 2023, to 823.38 thousand tons. This is evidenced by data from the State Customs Service.

Coated flat products (HS 7210) accounted for the bulk of imports – 389.9 thousand tons (+4% y/y). Turkey is the key supplier of products – 158.17 thousand tons. Another 54.67 thsd tonnes were imported from Poland.

In addition, 283.13 thousand tons of hot-rolled flat products (HS 7208) were imported, up 10.8% compared to January-October 2023. Turkish suppliers shipped 208.76 thousand tons of the relevant products to the Ukrainian market, while Italian suppliers shipped 17.83 thousand tons. The top three types of flat products imported by Ukrainian consumers include cold-rolled flat products – 70.56 thousand tons (+17.2% y/y). The largest volume was imported from Turkey – 48.08 thousand tons, and China – 18.64 thousand tons.

In October of this year, imports of flat products to Ukraine increased by 22.5% compared to the previous month and decreased by 8% compared to October 2023, to 87.59 thousand tons.

Supplies of coated flat products increased by 5.7% m/m and decreased by 11.1% y/y – to 38.45 thousand tons, hot-rolled flat products increased by 58.9% m/m and decreased by 13.8% y/y – to 30.57 thousand tons, and cold-rolled flat products increased by 50.4% m/m and 13.4% y/y – to 11 thousand tons.

The cost of imports of flat products for 10 months amounted to $910.39 million, up 4.2% compared to January-October 2023, and in October – $95.76 million (+17.1% m/m, -5.2% 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.