Ukraine imported 433,000 tons of metallurgical coke in January-August

In January-August 2025, Ukrainian steel enterprises increased imports of coke and semi-coke (HS – 2704) by 6.1% compared to the same period in 2024, to 433,510 tons. This is evidenced by GMK Center calculations based on data from the State Customs Service.

In August, imports of coke amounted to 68.84 thousand tons, which is 69.9% more than in the previous month and 6.4% more than in August 2024. This is the highest volume of imports since January of this year. In general, there has been a downward trend in imports since the beginning of the year, but volumes have been growing since July.

The bulk of supplies over the eight months came from Poland – 397.17 thousand tons. Another 27.67 thousand tons of coke were imported from Indonesia, and 8.63 thousand tons from the Czech Republic. In August, supplies from Poland increased by 75.8% month-on-month (66.8 thousand tons), the Czech Republic supplied 2 thousand tons of raw materials to the Ukrainian market (2.5 thousand tons in July), while Indonesia did not supply coke.

Spending on raw material imports in January-August decreased by 3.5% y/y – to $145.08 million, while in August it increased by 64.4% m/m and decreased by 6.7% y/y – to $24.03 million.

It should be noted that between 2013 and 2024, coking coal production in Ukraine decreased by 74%, and coke production by almost 85%. Currently, most of the mines and coke chemical enterprises remain in uncontrolled territories – 64% of the total list.

According to GMK Center estimates, to maintain production at the current level, namely the production of up to 6.5 million tons of steel using the converter and open-hearth methods and 1.3 million tons of commercial pig iron, Ukraine needs 3.2 million tons of coke per year, of which up to 20% was imported in 2024. In 2025, import volumes are likely to increase due to the shutdown of the Pokrovsk Coal Group.

In early April, the first ship of 2025 with coking coal from the US, chartered by the Metinvest Group, arrived in Ukraine. The bulk carrier delivered 80,000 tons of raw materials from the United Coal Company, which is part of the group. Metinvest plans to carry out similar import deliveries every month.

It should be noted that in 2024, Ukraine imported 661,490 tons of coke and semi-coke, which is twice the figure for 2023. A significant increase in supplies occurred in the second half of the year. Import costs for the year increased by 81.9% y/y – to $235.47 million.