Ukraine increased pig iron exports by 47.5% y/y in 1H2025

In January-June 2025, Ukrainian steel enterprises increased their exports of pig iron by 47.5% compared to the same period in 2024, to 883,170 tons. This is evidenced by GMK Center calculations based on data from the State Customs Service.

During this period, 682.19 thousand tons of pig iron were shipped to the US, which is 51% more than in the same period last year, 106.54 thousand tons to Italy (+190.2% year-on-year), and 21.98 thousand tons to Poland (-26.6% year-on-year).

In Q2, exports of commercial pig iron from Ukraine increased by 81.4% compared to the same period in 2024 and decreased by 5.4% compared to the previous quarter, to 429.29 thousand tons.

At the end of June, shipments decreased by 9.6% month-on-month and increased by 59.8% y-o-y – to 146.76 thousand tons. 100.6 thousand tons of pig iron were shipped to the US market (-4.7% month-on-month; +101% y-o-y), 30.99 thousand tons to Italy (+210% m-o-m; +520% y-o-y), and 4.98 thousand tons to Poland (+100.8% m-o-m; +39.7% y-o-y).

Revenue from pig iron exports in June amounted to $58.86 million, which is 8.4% less than in May and 61.7% more y-o-y. Over six months, the indicator grew by 54.6% y-o-y to $349.41 million, while in the second quarter it grew by 84.7% y-o-y but decreased by 5.2% q-o-q to $170.01 million.

As a reminder, in 2024, Ukraine increased its exports of commercial pig iron by 3.4% compared to 2023, from 1.25 million tons to 1.29 million tons. At the same time, exports amounted to 1.32 million tons in 2022 and 3.23 million tons in 2021. Ukrainian steelmakers’ export revenue for the year increased by 6.1% to $500.34 million.

During the year, there was a diversification of export destinations. In particular, the United States became the main consumer of Ukrainian pig iron, mainly due to the restoration of maritime logistics for Ukrainian iron and steel cargoes. At the same time, exports to the EU declined due to market stagnation. Thus, 940,210 tons (+514% y-o-y) were shipped to the US, 102,490 tons (+617%) to Turkey, 93,280 tons (+61.9%) to Italy, and 63,050 tons (-90%) to Poland. In 2023, Poland consumed more than half of Ukraine’s pig iron exports (633.34 thousand tons), while in 2024, only 5%.