Ukraine reduced imports of flat steel by 12.8% y/y in January–March

Between January and March 2026, 233,850 metric tons of flat-rolled steel were shipped to the Ukrainian market, a 12.8% decrease compared to the same period in 2025. This is according to calculations by the GMK Center based on data from the State Customs Service.

Over 50% of imports consisted of coated flat-rolled products (HS Code 7210) – 118,860 metric tons, which is 7.3% more year-on-year. The main suppliers of these products during the period were Turkey – 59,340 tons, South Korea – 10,410 tons, and Slovakia – 9,260 tons.

Another 28% of imports, or 65.72 thousand tons (-33.6% year-on-year), consisted of flat hot-rolled steel (HS 7208). The main source of these imports was Turkey – 58.18 thousand tons. Another 2.87 thousand tons were imported from China and 1.59 thousand tons from the Czech Republic.

During the period, 23.09 thousand tons of cold-rolled flat products (HS 7209) were also imported, which is 29.8% less year-on-year. Turkey supplied 21,540 tons of products, and Slovakia supplied 1,160 tons.

In March, Ukrainian consumers imported 101,640 tons of flat-rolled products, which is 4.7% more year-on-year and 51.9% more month-on-month. Deliveries of coated flat steel amounted to 48,730 tons (+12.9% year-on-year; +26.7% month-on-month), hot-rolled flat steel – 31,320 tons (-10.8% year-on-year; +103% MoM), and cold-rolled flat steel – 48.73 thousand tons (+12.9% y/y; +26.7% m/m).

Expenditures on flat steel imports for January–March decreased by 12.3% y/y, to $238.13 million, while in March they fell by 3.4% y/y and rose by 34.7% m/m, to $98.3 million.

As a reminder, 1.09 million tons of flat-rolled steel were shipped to the Ukrainian market in 2025, an increase of 10.7% compared to 2024. Approximately 50% of imports consisted of coated flat products—532,800 tons, a 13.7% year-on-year increase. Another 31.6% of shipments, or 344,280 tons (+0.9% year-on-year), consisted of hot-rolled flat products.

Expenditures on flat steel imports for the year increased by 4.9% year-on-year, to $1.13 billion.