Ukrainian seaports have handled 9.3 million tons of iron ore since the beginning of the year

In January-June 2025, Ukraine’s seaports handled about 40 million tons of cargo, of which more than 9.3 million tons were iron ore products and another 2.1 million tons were ferrous metals. This was announced in an interview with Ukrinform by Deputy Minister for Community and Territorial Development Andriy Kashuba.

As before the full-scale invasion, the main cargo flow consists of agricultural and mining and metallurgical cargoes. The share of agricultural products traditionally remains the highest – 20.3 million tons in six months. However, ore retains second place in the export structure, despite the downward trend in metallurgy.

According to Kashuba, in pre-war 2021, the volume of maritime transshipment in Ukraine reached 153 million tons, of which almost 38 million tons were ore cargoes and 16 million tons were ferrous metals. However, due to shelling, the occupation of part of the territory, and the general decline in industrial production, transshipment volumes have significantly decreased.

In 2024, 97 million tons of cargo were handled, of which 18.5 million tons were ore and 4.2 million tons were ferrous metals. In 2025, for half a year, this figure is 9.3 million tons of ore, i.e., the downward trend continues, although the rate of decline is slowing down.

The ports of Greater Odessa and the Danube cluster remain the key maritime gateways for exports. However, with the unblocking of the maritime corridor, activity in the Danube ports has declined – only about 10 million tons of transshipment is forecast for 2025, compared to 32 million tons in 2023.

Despite the shelling and risks, maritime logistics continues to operate. The functioning of ports remains strategic for the mining and metallurgical complex, as it is by sea that large volumes of raw materials, in particular ore, which plays an important role in foreign trade and foreign exchange earnings of the state, can be transported.

It should be noted that in January-April 2025, the Ukrainian maritime corridor transported over 25 million tons of cargo, including over 15 million tons of grain. In total, since its launch, 120 million tons have passed through the ports of Greater Odessa, of which 76 million tons were agricultural products.