Steelmakers of Ukraine increased the export of semi-finished products by 18.4% m/m in September

In September 2023, Ukrainian steel enterprises increased the export of semi-finished products by 18.4% compared to the previous month – up to 144.05 thousand tons. The income of producers from exports for the month increased by 16.9% m/m – up to $66.02 million. This is evidenced by State Customs Service’s data.

Compared to September 2022, in September 2023, steel enterprises of Ukraine increased the volume of exports of semi-finished products by 88.3%, and revenue – by 42.9%.

In January-September 2023, Ukraine exported 924.5 thousand tons of semi-finished products worth $476.7 million. Export volumes of slabs and billets decreased by 44.5% compared to the same period in 2022, and revenue from shipments – by 54.8%.

The main importers of semi-finished products from Ukraine in January-September 2023 were Bulgaria (35.6% of deliveries in monetary terms), Poland (26.5%) and Italy (9.9%).

The export of semi-finished products from Ukraine has been gradually recovering and growing since the beginning of 2023. The largest volume of shipments was recorded in May 2023, when Ukrainian steelmakers exported 152,000 tons of slabs and billets. In September, exports remain at a high level after the slowdown in shipment rates to 100-120 thousand tons in June-August.

This trend reflects the increase in steel production by Ukrainian steelmakers. In June, exports fell amid reduction in capacity due to the detonation of the Kakhovska HPP by Russian troops. This caused the suspension of steel and rolled steel production at ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih and disruptions in the work of some iron and steel enterprises of Ukraine. From July, production and exports began to gradually recover, but shipments were restrained by the negative situation on the European market.

In particular, in September, Ukrainian steelmakers reduced steel production by 7.3% compared to August, to 558 thousand tons. In January-September, 4.59 million tons of steel were produced (-16.9% y/y).

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2022 export of semi-finished products from Ukraine decreased by 72% compared to 2021 – to 1.89 million tons. In monetary terms, the export of semi-finished products fell by 70.9% y/y last year – to $1.19 billion. The main importers of Ukrainian semi-finished products in 2022 were Bulgaria (25.55%), Poland (13.97%) and Italy (12.13%).