The EU imported 13.97 million tons of iron ore from Ukraine in 2024

The key importers of raw materials are Poland and Slovakia

In 2024, steelmakers in the European Union increased imports of iron ore from Ukraine by 4.2% compared to 2023, to 13.969 million tons. This is evidenced by GMK Center’s calculations based on Eurostat data.

The key importers of raw materials of Ukrainian origin are Poland – 4.79 million tons, up 42.2% compared to 2023, Slovakia – 4.67 million tons (-7.1% y/y), and the Czech Republic – 2.79 million tons (-28.4% y/y). In 2024, the Netherlands increased its imports of iron ore from Ukraine by 84.2% y/y – to 660.11 thousand tons.

In December 2024, the EU imported 1.09 million tons of iron ore, up 3.7% compared to December 2023 and 26.3% more than in December 2023. Poland consumed 384.93 thousand tons over the month (+98.7% y/y, +13.6% m/m), Slovakia – 468.59 thousand tons (+10.7% y/y, +86.6% m/m), Czech Republic – 235.91 thousand tons (+10.9% y/y, +42.8% m/m).

In total, the EU imported 74.93 million tons of iron ore from third countries in 2024, up 2.6% compared to 2023. In December, these volumes amounted to 5.18 million tons, which is 1.7% less than in December 2023 and 3.6% less than in the previous month. The largest importer is the Netherlands – 26.59 million tons (+16.5% y/y).

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2023, the EU increased its imports of iron ore from Ukraine by 3.7% compared to 2022, up to 13.4 million tons. In total, European consumers imported 72.75 million tons of ore from third countries, down 11% y/y. Ukraine accounted for more than 18% of the total imports of iron ore to the EU.