Metinvest becomes Ukraine’s largest exporter in 2024 according to Forbes

Metinvest Group, together with its joint ventures, topped the ranking of Ukraine’s largest exporters in 2024 according to Forbes Ukraine. The publication analyzed data from the ImportGenius customs database and export statistics of the largest Ukrainian companies.

In total, exports of mining and metals products in Ukraine amounted to $7.3 billion in 2024. Metinvest, together with Zaporizhstal, accounted for almost $3.9 billion of this amount. The company exports iron ore raw materials, flat products and semi-finished steel products to 51 countries, including the markets of India, Sweden and Norway, which were developed last year.

ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, Ferrexpo and Interpipe were also among the top five companies in the mining and metals sector.

The main factors that influenced exports in 2024 include the restoration of access to Black Sea ports and lower prices for steel products. The main importers of Ukrainian steel were Poland, China, Bulgaria, the United States, and Slovakia.

“Our export strategy has not changed much. We have our main markets, Ukraine and the EU, where we supplied over 50% of our products before the full-scale invasion. Then there are remaining ones, the so-called balancing markets, which follow a more opportunistic approach to supply. We enter them when it is profitable and refrain when not. For iron ore, again, our main markets are the EU countries. And we have expanded our geography, entering Scandinavia and northern Europe. What we cannot sell in the EU due to limited consumption is exported to Southeast Asia: China, South Korea and other markets,” said Yuriy Ryzhenkov, CEO of Metinvest Group, in an interview with Forbes Ukraine.

Over the three years of the full-scale invasion, Metinvest Group has allocated UAH 8.4 billion to support Ukraine. A significant portion of these funds – UAH 4.4 billion – was transferred to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as part of the Steel Front initiative.

Metinvest remains the largest taxpayer in the industry: in 2024 alone, the company transferred UAH 19.8 billion to budgets of all levels, accounting for 61% of the total taxes in the steel industry.