Ukraine increased imports of coke by 2.5% y/y in January–May

In January–May 2026, Ukraine’s steelworks increased their imports of coke and semi-coke (HS Code 2704) by 2.5 per cent compared with the same period in 2025, reaching 305.25 thousand tonnes. This is according to calculations by the GMK Centre based on data from the State Customs Service.

Almost the entire volume of imports for the period consisted of Polish products — 296.94 thousand tonnes (+11.6% y-o-y). A further 3.06 thousand tonnes were imported from the Czech Republic. Expenditure on raw material imports over the five-month period rose by 8.9% year-on-year, to $105.89 million.

In May, coke imports into Ukraine rose by 31.2% year-on-year, but fell by 10% month-on-month, to 59.9 thousand tonnes, whilst import costs rose by 27.5% year-on-year and fell by 11.7% month-on-month, to $18.25 million.

Between 2013 and 2024, coking coal production in Ukraine fell by 74%, whilst coke production fell by almost 85 per cent. The majority of mines and coking plants—64 per cent of the total—remained in uncontrolled territories.

According to GMK Center’s estimates, to maintain production at current levels – namely, the production of up to 6.5 million tonnes of steel using converter and open-hearth processes and 1.3 million tonnes of merchant pig iron – Ukraine requires 3.2 million tonnes of coke per year, of which up to 20 per cent was imported in 2024.

In early April 2025, the first vessel carrying coking coal from the US, chartered by the Metinvest Group, arrived in Ukraine. The bulk carrier delivered 80,000 tonnes of raw material from United Coal Company, a subsidiary of the group. Metinvest planned to carry out such imports on a monthly basis.

It should be noted that in 2025, Ukraine imported 700.65 thousand tonnes of coke and semi-coke, which was 5.9 per cent more than in 2024. The bulk of the year’s imports consisted of Polish products — 657.84 thousand tonnes. A further 27.67 thousand tonnes of coke were imported from Indonesia and 15.08 thousand tonnes from the Czech Republic. Expenditure on raw material imports rose by 1.4% year-on-year, to $238.66 million.