Ukraine increased imports of long steel products by 72.6% y/y in January–May

The bulk of imports consists of twisted carbon steel rods and bars intended for use without further processing

Between January and May 2026, the long steel products market in Ukraine saw a significant increase in imports — up 72.6% compared with the same period in 2025, to 184.46 thousand tonnes. This is according to calculations by the GMK Centre based on data from the State Customs Service.

The bulk of the imports consisted of other carbon steel bars and rods, unworked, twisted (HS Code 7214) — 66.42 thousand tonnes, which is 2.5 times more year-on-year. Turkey supplied 38.35 thousand tonnes of such products to the Ukrainian market, whilst Egypt supplied 9.99 thousand tonnes.

A further 54.81 thousand tonnes of angles, shapes and special sections of non-alloy steel (UKTZED 7216) were imported, representing a 7.9% year-on-year increase. Imports from Turkey totalled 38.29 thousand tonnes, from China 9.91 thousand tonnes, and from Poland 3.16 thousand tonnes.

A significant proportion of the imports consisted of hot-rolled bars and rods made of carbon steel, in coils (HS Code 7213) — 45.03 thousand tonnes (+289% year-on-year). China supplied almost the entire volume of products to the Ukrainian market — 41.85 thousand tonnes, whilst Egypt supplied 2.99 thousand tonnes.

In May 2026, 73.6 thousand tonnes of long steel products were shipped to the Ukrainian market, which is twice as much as in May 2025 and 2.5 times as much as in the previous month.

Consumption of the main imported items during the month was as follows:

• Other carbon steel bars and rods, unworked, twisted (HS Code 7214) — 27.04 thousand tonnes (+119.2% y/y; +113.8% m/m).
• Angle bars, shaped and special sections of non-alloy steel (HS 7216) — 16.78 thousand tonnes (-14.8% y/y; +26.1% m/m).
• Hot-rolled bars and rods made of carbon steel, in coils (HS Code 7213) — 24.55 thousand tonnes (0 thousand tonnes in April; 2.65 thousand tonnes in May 2025).

Expenditure on imports of long products over the first five months fell by 31.9% year-on-year, to $165.3 million. In May, the figure fell by 48.1% year-on-year and rose by 111% month-on-month, to $56.99 million.

The growth in imports in volume terms, accompanied by a simultaneous fall in their value, is explained by a shift in the structure of purchases towards cheaper types of long products with lower added value. This led to a significant reduction in the average cost per tonne of imported products.

As reported by GMK Center, Ukraine’s imports of long steel products increased by 58.6% in 2024 compared with 2024, reaching 272.61 thousand tonnes. The bulk of these imports consisted of angles, shapes and special sections (HS Code 7216) — 108.75 thousand tonnes, up 41.8% year-on-year. Turkey and China were the main suppliers of long steel products to the Ukrainian market.