Ukraine increased imports of flat products by 22.2% y/y in February

In February 2024, Ukraine increased imports of flat products by 22.2% compared to February 2023, to 74.13 thousand tons. Import costs amounted to $82.34 million, up 18% y/y. This is evidenced by the data of the State Customs Service.

In February, Ukrainian consumers increased imports of flat products by 3.8% compared to January 2024, while spending on foreign products increased by 2%.

In January-February, Ukraine imported 145.6 thousand tons of flat products, up 43.3% year-on-year. Import costs increased by 35.4% y/y – to 163.06 thousand tons.

In 2 months, Ukraine imported the most coated flat products (HS 7210) – 60.1 thousand tons for $69.28 million. In February, imports amounted to 30.49 thousand tons (+2.9% m/m, +20.1% y/y) for $35.33 million (+4.1% m/m, +9.3% y/y). Also, 57.13 thousand tons of uncoated hot-rolled flat products (HS 7208) were imported for $46.51 million, and in February – 28.32 thousand tons (-1.7% m/m; +33% y/y) for $23.57 million (+2.7% m/m; +29.5% y/y).

Cold-rolled flat products made of uncoated carbon steel (HS 7209) were among the top three types of flat products imported to Ukraine in January-February, with 10.27 thousand tons worth $8.14 million. In February, imports amounted to 6.93 thousand tons (+107.5% m/m, -19% y/y) for $5.32 million (+89.1% m/m, -29.3% y/y).

Türkiye, Poland and Slovakia were the largest suppliers of coated flat products in February, accounting for 24.6%, 20.2% and 14.7% in monetary terms, respectively. Türkiye (51.2%), Slovakia (20.8%) and Italy (20.6%) shipped more than 90% of uncoated hot-rolled flat products. Türkiye was the main supplier of uncoated cold-rolled flat products (77.5%).

The sharp increase in imports is due to the destruction of Mariupol steel mills that specialized in flat products. In addition, there is the impact of a low comparison base – in the first half of last year, economic activity was low due to the hostilities. Consequently, imports were not at the top of the agenda.

Imports of flat products are expected to grow in the long term, especially during the post-war recovery period. Imports will be the main source of supply to meet domestic demand. In the short term, imports will stabilize at a certain level, given the existing logistical constraints in the war.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2023, Ukraine increased imports of flat steel products by 93.2% compared to 2022, to 908.2 thousand tons. Import costs increased by 48.4% y/y – to $1.03 billion. The largest suppliers of products were Türkiye, Romania, Slovakia and China.