Industrial production in Ukraine grew by 4.9% y/y in January-September

Industrial production in Ukraine in January-September 2024 increased by 4.9% compared to the same period in 2023. In September, the figure increased by 1.3% compared to the corresponding month of the previous year and by 5.5% m/m. This is evidenced by data from the State Statistics Service.

Within 9 months, production in steel sector and finished steel products increased by 25.9% compared to the first half of 2023, and in iron ore mining by 22.7% y/y.

In September of this year, production in metallurgy increased by 14.1% compared to September 2023 and decreased by 3.8% compared to the previous month. In iron ore mining, the figure increased by 14% y/y and decreased by 1.8% m/m.

Since the beginning of the year, the iron and steel industry in Ukraine has seen a slowdown in production dynamics. Due to a number of negative factors, including rising electricity tariffs, logistics costs, shortage of skilled personnel due to mobilization, etc., the Ukrainian industry is losing competitiveness both in domestic and foreign markets. Unjustified tariff increases by state monopolies in the railroad and electricity markets affect the production plans and capabilities of domestic companies, threatening to lose export and tax revenues from heavy industry and thousands of jobs in the frontline regions.

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 industry 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 indicator. This was facilitated by the opening of a sea export corridor for iron and steel cargo and, consequently, an increase in the utilization of mining and processing plants.