Ukrainian steelmakers increased the export of flat products by 3.1% m/m in April

In April 2023, steel enterprises of Ukraine increased the export of flat products by 3.1% compared to March 2023 – up to 60.2 thousand tons. In monetary terms, the export of such products increased by 14.9% m/m – up to $43.85 million. This is evidenced by State Customs Service’s data.

Compared to April 2022, in April 2023, steel enterprises of Ukraine reduced the revenue from the sale of flat rolled products by 46.2%. It is impossible to calculate the difference in export volumes in natural terms due to the lack of data.

In January-April 2023, Ukraine shipped 183,100 tons of flat rolled products for export for $125.05 million. The revenue from the sale of products abroad decreased by 87.1% compared to the same period last year, and the export volume – by 84.1% y/y.

In four months, flat hot-rolled products without coating (Nomenclature 7208) were exported the most – 129.1 thousand tons for $84.1 million. In April, 41.1 thousand tons (-1.6% m/m) were shipped for $29.4 million (+13.5% m/m). Also, 45.7 thousand tons of flat cold-rolled products without coating (Nomenclature 7209) for $28.6 million were exported, in April – 16.8 thousand tons (+23.2% m/m) for $10.9 million (+33.3% m/m).

The three leaders among the types of flat rolled products in terms of export volumes from Ukraine in January-April 2023 are covered by flat clad rolled products, with galvanic or other coating (Nomenclature 7210) – 8.1 thousand tons for $12.01 million. In April, steel companies reduced exports of such products by 21.8% compared to the previous month – to 2.28 thousand tons. Revenue from its shipment fell by 11.8% m/m – to $3.48 million.

Poland and Bulgaria are the largest consumers of Ukrainian flat hot-rolled products without coating – 61.7% and 19.5%, respectively, in monetary terms. Poland (30.1%), Bulgaria (20.1%) and Iraq (10%) together consumed about 60% of uncoated flat cold-rolled products. Among the main buyers of Ukrainian-made rolled steel with coating are Romania (47.7%) and Poland (44.4%).

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the export of ferrous metals decreased sharply due to the blockade of ports, logistical problems, the negative situation on the world markets, as well as the destruction of large steel plants in Mariupol – Azovstal and Ilyich Iron and Steel Works. These problems were compounded by the shelling of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure by Russian forces at the end of 2022, which forced steel companies to reduce production to a minimum or completely suspend production.

Now the situation with energy supply has stabilized, steelmakers are increasing capacity, and demand on world markets is picking up. Although the pre-war indicators are still unattainable for Ukrainian steelmakers, the monthly dynamics indicate a gradual increase in steel exports and production. The main factor holding back production now is the blockade of sea ports, which makes it impossible to ship significant volumes of products and open new markets, since steel is delivered mainly to Europe by rail, and logistics costs exceed pre-war indicators several times.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2022 Ukrainian steelmakers exported 1.63 million tons of flat rolled steel, which is 73% less compared to 2021. The revenue of steelmakers from the export of such products fell by 73.5% y/y – to $1.35 billion. The largest consumers of products were Poland, Romania, Turkiye and Bulgaria.