Ukraine exported 1.36 million tons of iron ore to the EU in January

In January 2024, Ukrainian mining companies shipped 1.358 million tons of iron ore to the EU market, up 29.3% month-on-month and 27.4% compared to January 2023. This is based on GMK Center’s calculations based on Eurostat data.

In January 2024, Ukrainian exporters’ revenue from iron ore supplies to the European market increased by 21.3% month-on-month and 14.6% year-on-year – to €63.83 million.

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

• Slovakia – 513.89 thousand tons (+47.5% y/y);
• Czech Republic – 308.03 thousand tons (-25.8% y/y);
• Poland – 253.8 thsd tonnes (-8.6% y/y);
• Italy – 112.13 thsd tonnes (+348% y/y).

Overall, in January, the European Union increased imports of iron ore by 21.3% compared to the previous month and by 14.6% y/y – to 6.38 million tons. Import costs amounted to €774.26 million tonnes, up 29.8% month-on-month and 23.2% in January 2023. Thus, Ukrainian suppliers accounted for 21.3% of the total imports of iron ore by the EU.

The largest importers of iron ore are the Netherlands and Germany – 2.29 million tons (+43.9% y/y) and 1.19 million tons (+5% y/y), respectively.

In January 2024, Ukraine exported 3.11 million tons of iron ore, up 93.9% month-on-month and 3.4 times year-on-year. For the first time since the start of a full-scale war, China has become the main export destination for Ukrainian mining and metals companies, outstripping the EU. This was facilitated by the opening of the sea corridor in August 2023.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2023, the EU increased imports of iron ore from Ukraine by 3.7% compared to 2022, 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.