UK reduced imports of iron and steel products from Ukraine by 37% y/y in 2023

Imports of raw materials fell by 49.3% y/y, and finished products – increased by 0.6% y/y

In 2023, the United Kingdom reduced imports of iron and steel products from Ukraine by 36.9% compared to 2022, to 34.6 thousand tons. This is evidenced by GMK Center’s calculations based on UN Comtrade data.

Last year, supplies of Ukrainian pig iron to British consumers increased by 2.9 times compared to 2022, up to 9.43 thousand tons. Imports of ferroalloys from Ukraine amounted to 7.12 thousand tons, which is 3.6 times more than in the previous year, and semi-finished products – 4.35 thousand tons (-87.9% y/y). Iron ore and scrap of Ukrainian origin were not supplied to the UK last year. Thus, supplies of steelmaking raw materials decreased by 49.3% y/y – to 20.9 thousand tons.

In 2023, shipments of finished products by Ukrainian steelmakers to the UK increased by 0.6% compared to 2022, to 13.69 thousand tons. Hot-rolled flat products accounted for the bulk of imports – 7.2 thousand tons, up 61.9% y/y. Another 5.6 thousand tons of cold-rolled flat products were imported (-4.3% y/y). About 1 kt of rolled products imports were wire and rods of various grades.

In 2023, the UK reduced steel production by 6.5% compared to 2022, to 5.6 million tons. Steel production in the country has been on a downward trend for the second year in a row.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2023, Ukraine reduced iron ore exports by 26% compared to 2022, to 17.7 million tons. Exports of pig iron dropped by 5.8% y/y – to 1.25 million tonnes, semi-finished products – by 36.7% y/y, to 1.2 million tonnes, ferroalloys – by 4.9% y/y, to 344.2 thousand tonnes, long products – by 31.4% y/y, to 523.8 thousand tonnes, and flat products – by 26.4% y/y, to 1.2 million tonnes.