Ukrainian steel plants may increase production to 7.3 million tons in 2024

Further production prospects of the industry depend on the situation in the Donetsk region

Ukrainian steelmakers may increase steel production by 17% year-on-year in 2024, up to about 7.3 million tons.

This was stated by Oleksandr Kalenkov, President of Ukrmetalurgprom, at the online event “What prevents steel production from growing?”, organized by the Center for Economic Strategy in cooperation with the German EconomicTeam. GMK Center was the media partner of the event.

In recent months, the level of production dynamics has been gradually decreasing due to the growth of the comparison base.

“While steel production in Ukraine grew by 33.6% over seven months and 30.8% over eight months, it was 28.2% in January-September. The production dynamics figure will decline as the sea corridor has been operational since September last year, which means that the comparison base has increased,” explained Oleksandr Kalenkov.

According to the president of Ukrmetalurgprom, Ukrainian steelmakers can increase steel production to 10 million tons if the security situation is favorable and the existing plants are utilized more efficiently. However, if the situation in Donetsk region deteriorates due to the loss of coking coal supplies, steel production may drop below 3-4 million tons.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in January-September 2024, Ukrainian steelmakers increased rolled products production by 22.7% year-on-year – to 4.82 million tonnes, steel production by 28.2% – to 5.88 million tonnes and pig iron production by 21.9% – to 5.36 million tonnes.

In 2023, Ukrainian steelmakers increased rolled steel production by 0.4% compared to 2022, to 5.37 million tons. Pig iron production during the year amounted to 6 million tons, down 6.1% compared to 2022, and steel production amounted to 6.23 million tons (-0.6% y/y).