Ukrainian steelmakers increased the export of semi-finished products by 49.3% m/m in May

In May 2023, Ukrainian steel enterprises increased the export of semi-finished products by 49.3% compared to the previous month – up to 151.82 thousand tons. The income of producers from export for the month increased by 54.8% m/m – up to $86.68 million. This is evidenced by State Customs Service’s data.

Compared with May 2022, in May 2023, Ukrainian steel enterprises increased the volume of exports of semi-finished products by 62.2%. The dynamics of revenue from shipments cannot be calculated due to lack of data.

In January-May 2023, Ukraine exported 447.95 thousand tons of semi-finished products for $244.94 million. The volume of exports of slabs and billets decreased by 64.1% compared to the same period in 2022.

The main importers of semi-finished products from Ukraine in January-May 2023 were Poland (35.44% of supplies in monetary terms), Bulgaria (25.74%) and Italy (8.04%).

The export of semi-finished products from Ukraine has been gradually resuming since the beginning of 2023 and is growing in monthly dynamics, in particular, in February, the indicator in physical terms increased by 80.6% m/m, in March – by 25.5% m/m, and in April – by 24% m/m. This trend reflects an increase in steel production by Ukrainian steelmakersw.

In particular, in May, Ukrainian steelmakers increased steel production by 1.6% compared to April and by 86.3% y/y. In January May, 2.39 million tons of steel were produced (-43.7% y/y).

The low volumes of production of Ukrainian steelmakers are connected with logistical problems, the unfavorable situation of the world market, as well as with the destruction due to hostilities of the two largest steel enterprises of Ukraine – Azovstal and Ilyich Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol. The undermining of the Kakhovska hydroelectric power station by Russian troops, which has already caused the suspension of steel and rolled products at ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih and disruptions in the operation of some enterprises of the mining and steel complex of Ukraine were added to these factors.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2022 export of semi-finished products from Ukraine decreased by 72% compared to 2021 – to 1.89 million tons. In monetary terms, the export of semi-finished products over the past year fell by 70.9% y/y – to $1.19 billion. The main importers of Ukrainian semi-finished products in 2022 were Bulgaria (25.55%), Poland (13.97%) and Italy (12.13%).