Industrial production in Ukraine grew by 11.2% y/y in Q1

Industrial production in Ukraine in January-March 2024 increased by 11.2% compared to the same period in 2023. In March, the figure increased by 5% compared to the same month of the previous year and by 6.3% m/m. This is evidenced by data from the State Statistics Service.

In the first quarter, production in steel industry and finished steel products increased by 32.3% compared to the first quarter of 2023, and in metal ore mining – by 33.4% y/y.

Quarterly production in the Ukrainian mining and metals sector continued the upward trend of the fourth quarter of 2023. This was facilitated by a low comparison base and increased utilization of iron and steel enterprises due to the opening of sea exports for iron and steel cargo.

In March 2024, production in the steel industry increased by 17.6% compared to March 2023 and by 14.6% compared to the previous month. In iron ore mining, the figure decreased by 2% y/y and 6.7% m/m.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2023, industrial production in Ukraine increased by 5.9% compared to 2022. In December, the figure was up 22.6% y/y and 7.9% m/m

Production in steel sector and finished steel products increased by 8% compared to 2022, while production in metal ore mining decreased by 10.2% y/y.

The annualized figure for steel sector increased due to an improvement in the fourth quarter of 2023, as the results were negative in January-September. However, the growth is the result of a low comparison base due to the weak state of the industry in October-December 2022, when Ukraine’s industry suffered from problems with electricity supply as a result of Russian troops’ shelling of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

The mining industry also significantly improved its performance at the end of the year, which reduced the rate of decline in the annual steel. This was facilitated by the opening of a sea export corridor for iron and metals cargo and, consequently, an increase in the utilization of steel plants.