Ukrainian ferroalloy enterprises produced 41 thousand tons of products in 8 months

Volumes of output decreased by 4.6 times y/y primarily due to a long layoff at the beginning of the year

In January-August 2024, Ukrainian ferroalloy enterprises reduced production by 4.6 times compared to the same period in 2023 – to 41.05 thousand tons from 187.13 thousand tons. This is reported by Interfax-Ukraine with reference to data from the Ukrainian Association of Ferroalloy Producers (UkrFA).

During the period, the production of silicomanganese decreased by 4.34 times, to 39.31 thousand tons, ferromanganese – by 2.84 times, to 1.41 thousand tons. In addition, ferrosilicon production (in terms of 45%) fell to 0.12 thousand tons from 10.49 thousand tons. Metal manganese was not produced, while in 8 months of 2023, 0.01 thousand tons were produced. Production of other ferroalloys fell to 0.21 kt (1.94 kt a year earlier).

Pokrovsk Mining and Processing Plant (PGOK) and Marganets Mining and Processing Plant (MGOK), which mine and process manganese ore, did not produce any products in 8 months of 2024, while in January-August 2023, MGOK produced 160.31 thousand tons of manganese concentrate (no data for MGOK). These companies have been idle since November 2023.

At the same time, Zaporizhzhia Ferroalloy Plant (ZFP) and Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant (NFP), which have also been idle since the end of 2023, resumed production at a minimum level in the second quarter of this year. In particular, ZZF has been operating two furnaces at 7% capacity since May 1, and NFP has also been operating since the end of June.

In 8 months, the plant produced 7.64 thousand tons of products compared to 17.22 thousand tons in January-August 2023 (-2.25 times yoy). During this period, the NFP produced 33.41 thousand tons of ferroalloy products, which is 5.1 times less than in the previous year (169.91 thousand tons). The average monthly output of ferroalloys under stable operation of the enterprise is about 55-60 thousand tons.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2023, Ukraine’s production of ferroalloys decreased by 57.4% compared to 2022. Exports fell by 4.9% y/y – to 344.2 thousand tons. Compared to pre-war 2021, shipments of ferroalloys abroad decreased by 48.5%, or 324.4 thousand tons. Poland was the largest consumer of Ukrainian-made ferroalloys in 2023, accounting for 52.8% in monetary terms. Turkey accounted for 14.1% of export shipments and the Netherlands for 8.5%.

In 2024, according to Serhiy Kudryavtsev, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Ferroalloy Producers Association (UkrFA), the state of Ukraine’s ferroalloy industry will depend on three factors: shelling, logistics, and affordable electricity.