Imports of flat rolled products to Ukraine in the first half of the year increased by 21.5% y/y

In January-June 2024, Ukraine increased imports of flat rolled products by 21.5% compared to the same period in 2023 – up to 474.28 thousand tons, according to the data of the State Customs Service.

The bulk of imports falls on flat coated rolled products – 224.72 thousand tons (+17.8% y/y). The key supplier of products is Turkey – 83.33 thousand tons. Another 30.08 thousand tons accounted for Poland.

162.2 thousand tons of flat hot-rolled steel were also imported, which is 20.5% more compared to January-June 2023. Turkish suppliers shipped 108.2 thousand tons of the corresponding products to the Ukrainian market, Italian – 17.2 thousand tons. The three main types of flat rolled products imported by Ukrainian consumers include cold-rolled flat rolled products – 38.84 thousand tons (+27.4% y–y). The largest volume was imported from Turkey – 28.15 thousand tons, and China – 6.81 thousand tons.

In June 2024, imports of flat rolled products to Ukraine decreased by 10.8% compared to the previous month, and increased by 19.4% compared to June 2023 – to 86.21 thousand tons.

Deliveries of coated flat rolled products decreased by 7.2% m/m and increased by 18% y/y – up to 46.05 thousand tons, flat hot-rolled steel – fell by 32.9% m/m and 0.6% y/y, up to 22.7 thousand tons, and cold-rolled flat rolled products – increased by 64.6% m/m and 155.1% y/y

Import costs for flat rolled products for 6 months reached $522.77 million, which is 12.7% more compared to January-June 2023, and in June – $95.52 million (-8.6% m/m; +9.1% y/y).

The sharp increase in imports is associated with the destruction of Mariupol steel plants, which specialized in the production of flat rolled products. In addition, there is the impact of a low base of comparison – in the first half of last year, economic activity was at a low level due to hostilities. Accordingly, import issues were not in the first place.

It is expected that in the long term, imports of flat rolled products will increase, especially during the post-war reconstruction. Import supplies will become the main source to meet domestic demand. In the short term, imports will stabilize at a certain level, given the logistical constraints of 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 for the year increased by 48.4% y/y – up to $1.03 billion The largest suppliers of products were Turkey, Romania, Slovakia and China.