Ukraine reduced exports of semi-finished products by 64% y/y in January

Key consumers include Bulgaria, Egypt and Turkey

In January 2025, Ukrainian steel companies significantly reduced exports of semi-finished steel products. In particular, shipments fell by 63.7% compared to January 2024, and by 34.1% to 80.62 thousand tons compared to the previous month. This is according to GMK Cener’s calculations based on data from the State Customs Service.

January’s exports of semi-finished products are the lowest since November 2023, when 70.15 thousand tons of the products were shipped to foreign consumers. At the same time, the average monthly export last year was 157.17 thousand tons, in 2023 – 100.29 thousand tons, and in 2022 – 158.31 thousand tons.

The key consumers of Ukrainian semi-finished products in January included:

• Bulgaria – 23.83 thousand tons (-54% compared to December 2024);
• Egypt – 21.93 thousand tons (+112.4%);
• Turkey – 20.57 thsd tonnes (+105.2%).

Revenue from exports decreased by 65.1% y/y and 35.6% m/m – to $36.85 million over the month.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2024, Ukraine increased exports of semi-finished steel products by 56.7% compared to 2023, from 1.2 million tons to 1.89 million tons. Export shipments increased due to the resumption of sea exports to distant markets, in particular to Egypt – 356.17 thousand tons (+1233% y/y). Bulgaria received 595.02 thsd tonnes of products (+30% y/y), and Turkey – 215.76 thsd tonnes. The main surge in exports occurred in the third quarter (641.9 thousand tons), which contributed to a significant increase in annual exports.

Ukrainian steelmakers’ export revenues increased by 52.4% – to $927.55 million over the year.