Ukraine reduced imports of flat steel by 23% y/y in January–February

In January–February 2026, 133,210 metric tons of flat-rolled steel were shipped to the Ukrainian market, a 22.8% 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) – 70,130 tons, which is 3.7% more year-over-year. The main suppliers of products during the specified period were Turkey – 33.5 thousand tons, South Korea – 7.67 thousand tons, and Slovakia – 5.76 thousand tons.

Another 26% of imports, or 34,400 tons (-46.1% year-on-year), consisted of hot-rolled flat products (HS 7208). The main source of these imports was Turkey – 28,560 tons. Another 2.87 thousand tons were imported from China and 1.4 thousand tons from the Czech Republic.

Additionally, 11.77 thousand tons of flat cold-rolled products (HS 7209) were imported during the period, a 51.4% decrease year-over-year. Turkey supplied 10,780 tons of products, and Slovakia supplied 800 tons.

In February, Ukrainian consumers imported 66,920 tons of flat-rolled products, which is 18.5% less year-on-year and 2.5% more month-on-month. Deliveries of coated flat-rolled products amounted to 38,450 tons (+2.7% year-over-year; +21.4% month-over-month), hot-rolled flat-rolled products – 15,430 tons (-43.4% y/y; -18.7% m/m), and cold-rolled flat products – 4.07 thousand tons (-56.7% y/y; -47% m/m).

Expenditures on flat steel imports for January–February decreased by 17.6% y/y-  to $139.83 million, while in February they fell by 11.4% y/y and rose by 9.2% m/m – to $72.98 million.

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

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