Ukraine’s exports of iron ore fell by 5.7% in August

Exports of iron ore grew by 12.8% in eight months

In August 2020, Ukrainian mining & metals companies decreased exports of iron ore and iron ore concentrates by 11% to 3.7 million tons against August last year.

In monetary terms, iron ore exports for this month dropped by 17.3% to $337.4 million against August 2019, according to the customs statistics.

In January–August 2020, Ukraine exported 30.7 million tons of iron ore, 12.8% up from the first eight months of 2019.

In January–August, Ukraine’s mining companies insignificantly increased revenue from iron ore exports  by 0.9% to $2.5 billion compared to the same period of the previous year.

China remains the main consumer of Ukrainian iron ore. In eight months, its share in Ukraine’s exports was 64.10%. Poland ranked second (9.13%), followed by Austria (6.34%).

It has to be noted that China  cut imports of iron ore in August by 10.9% to 100.36 million tons against the previous month. Conversely, Chinese steel producers ramped up iron ore imports by 5.8% compared to August 2019. This was due to a growing demand for steel.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2019, Ukraine increased iron ore exports by 8.1% to 39.9 million tons against 2018. In monetary terms, iron ore exports grew by 18.5% to $3.398 billion.

The key iron ore producers in Ukraine include: Sukha Balka GOK (Mining and Processing Plant), Zaporizhzhia Iron Ore Plant, Ingulets GOK, Kryvyi Rih Iron Ore Plant, Poltava Mining, Northern GOK, Central GOK, Southern GOK, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih.