The EU imported 408.1 thousand tons of DRI in January-February

In January-February 2025, the European Union reduced imports of direct reduced iron (DRI) by 30.9% compared to the same period in 2024, to 408.14 thousand tons. This is according to GMK Center’s calculations based on Eurostat data.

The main importers of direct reduced iron among the EU countries in the period under review were Italy, Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands, among others:

• Italy – 263.89 kt (+86.8% y/y);
• Austria – 51.14 thsd tonnes (+2.3% y/y);
• Spain – 37.46 thsd tonnes (+273% y/y);
• Germany – 8.65 thsd tonnes (-95% y/y).

Russia is the largest supplier of DRI to the EU. In January-February, Russian companies shipped 115.45 kt of direct reduced iron to European consumers, down 44.9% y/y.

The main importers of Russian products are Italy – 99.05 thousand tons, down 21.4% y/y, and Spain – 16.4 thousand tons (0 thousand tons in January-February 2024).

Libya shipped 87.88 thsd tonnes of DRI to the EU in 2 months, down 9.7% y/y. Venezuela exported 113.57 thsd tonnes of the product to the EU (+76.4% y/y).

In February, the EU imported 246.79 thsd tonnes of DRI, up 6.5% y/y and 53% m/m.

During the month, Russia exported 65.05 thsd tonnes of raw materials to the EU (+194.3% y/y, +29.1% m/m), Libya – 63.58 thsd tonnes (-16.2% y/y, +161.7% m/m). Venezuela shipped 59.5 thsd tonnes of DRI to the EU (+68.1% y/y, +10% m/m).

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2024, the EU increased imports of direct reduced iron from third countries by 5.4% compared to 2023, to 2.75 million tons. In 2023, there was a drop of 11.1% y/y. The largest importers of DRI among the EU member states last year were: Italy – 659.73 thsd tonnes (-23.7% y/y), the Netherlands – 527.27 thsd tonnes (+423%), Germany – 438.46 thsd tonnes (-33.5%).

Traditionally, the key suppliers of DRI to the EU in 2024 were the Russian Federation, Libya, the USA, Venezuela, and Canada. These countries accounted for about 85% of raw material supplies to the bloc, with Russia accounting for 38%.