Ukraine exported 1.1 million tons of iron ore to the EU in February

Ukrainian suppliers accounted for 20.5% of the total EU iron ore imports

In February 2024, Ukrainian mining companies shipped 1.06 million tons of iron ore to the EU market, down 21.7% month-on-month and 0.5% compared to February 2023. This is based on GMK Center’s calculations based on Eurostat data.

Revenues of Ukrainian exporters from iron ore supplies to the European market in February this year decreased by 22.5% m/m and increased by 12% y/y – to €129.31 million.

The main consumers of Ukrainian raw materials among the EU countries are:

• Slovakia – 479.5 thousand tons (+15% y/y);
• Czech Republic – 135.52 thousand tons (-50.1% y/y);
• Poland – 300.4 thsd tonnes (-18.6% y/y);
• Germany – 82.5 thsd tonnes (did not import in February 2023).

In January-February, the EU imports of iron ore from Ukraine increased by 13.4% y/y –  to 2.42 mln tonnes. Import costs increased by 24.4% y/y – to €296.23 mln.

Overall, in February, the European Union reduced iron ore imports by 15.4% compared to the previous month and by 9% y/y – to 5.4 million tons. The cost of imports amounted to €698.5 million tonnes, down 9.8% month-on-month and 3.5% higher than the import value in February 2023. Thus, Ukrainian suppliers accounted for 20.5% of the total imports of EU iron ore.

In January-February, the EU increased imports of iron ore by 2.4% y/y – to 11.78 million tons, while import costs increased by 13% y/y – to €698.5 million.

The largest importers of iron ore for 2 months were the Netherlands and Germany – 3.9 million tons (+17.9% y/y) and 2.34 million tons (+11.5% y/y), respectively.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2023, the EU increased 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.