Ukrainian ferroalloy producers exported 40.9 thousand tons of products in February 2023

In February 2023, Ukrainian ferroalloy enterprises reduced the export of ferroalloys by 26.8% compared to the previous month – to 40.9 thousand tons. In monetary terms, deliveries of ferroalloys abroad during this period fell by 34.7% m/m – to $33.66 million. This is evidenced by State Customs Service’s data.

Compared to February 2022, in February 2023, ferroalloy enterprises of Ukraine reduced revenue from product sales by 54.6%. It is impossible to calculate the difference in export volumes in natural terms due to the lack of data.

In January-February 2023, Ukraine exported 96.83 thousand tons of ferroalloys worth $85.23 million. The revenue of ferroalloys decreased by 44.7% compared to the same period in 2022.

The main consumer of Ukrainian ferroalloys in January-February 2023 was Poland (65.9%). The share of Turkiye in the total volume of exports was 7.08%. China is in the third place with 6.28%.

As the executive director of UkrFA Sergey Kudryavtsev noted, ferroalloy plants of Ukraine at the end of 2022 were loaded by 30% compared to 60-70% in April-May. Like the entire iron and steel complex of Ukraine, the ferroalloy and mining enterprises of the industry suffered greatly from the consequences of the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

Missile attacks on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure at the end of last year significantly worsened the situation for the ferroalloy industry, which depends more than others on a stable energy supply. As a result of these strikes, the enterprises of the industry temporarily stopped their work partially or completely.

TPobuzhsky Ferronickel Plant (PFP) was forced to stop production due to damage to related energy facilities. In addition, this enterprise, which depends on imported raw materials, cannot currently count on its stable flow due to the blocking of ports.

The situation at the Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant (NFP) and the Zaporizhzhia Ferroalloy Plant (ZFP) is also extremely difficult – the enterprises are operating at minimum capacity. The work of enterprises depends entirely on the demand for products, supplies of raw materials and stable energy supply. In case of stabilization of the situation, plants will be able to quickly increase production volumes.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2022 ferroalloys of Ukraine reduced exports by 47.7% compared to 2021 – to 349.6 thousand tons. Revenue from the export of ferroalloys decreased by 46% y/y – to $564.14 million. In January-August 2022 plants of the industry produced 399.46 thousand tons of products, which is 32% less y/y.