From January to March 2025, Ukraine imported over 268 thousand tons of flat steel products, which is 28.8% more than in the same period last year. This indicates a revival in the steel market and an increase in demand for metal products in the country, reports the analytical company GMK Center, based on data from the State Customs Service of Ukraine.
This is reported by Business • Media
Structure and Main Suppliers of Imports
More than 40% of the imported metal consisted of coated flat products (UKTVED code – 7210). A total of about 110.8 thousand tons of such products were imported, which is 27.1% more compared to the same period last year. The main suppliers were Turkey (58.2 thousand tons), Poland (15 thousand tons), and Slovak companies (13.4 thousand tons).
Another 36.9% of supplies, or 99 thousand tons (+21.2% compared to last year), accounted for flat hot-rolled products (UKTVED code – 7208). The main source was the Turkish market – 82.7 thousand tons. Additionally, 7.3 thousand tons were imported from China and 3.1 thousand from Italy.
Increase in Cold-Rolled Steel Imports and Financial Costs
In the period from January to March 2025, 32.9 thousand tons of cold-rolled products (UKTVED code – 7209) were imported, which is 2.3 times more than in the same period of the previous year. Almost 19.8 thousand tons were imported from Turkey, about 11.7 thousand from China, and 1.1 thousand tons from Slovakia.
During March, Ukrainian consumers purchased over 97 thousand tons of flat products, which is 54.8% more year-on-year and 18.2% compared to the previous month. In particular, shipments of coated flat products amounted to 43.2 thousand tons (+59.4% year-on-year), hot-rolled products – 35.1 thousand tons (+43.2%), and cold-rolled products – 8.7 thousand tons (+131.8%).
Total spending on metal imports in the first quarter of 2025 increased by 16.8% and amounted to 271.6 million USD. In March, this figure reached 101.8 million USD, which is 46.6% more than in the same period last year and 21% compared to February.
It is worth noting that in 2024, Ukraine imported over 983 thousand tons of flat steel products, which is 8.3% more than the figures for 2023. The majority of imports were coated flat products – 468.6 thousand tons (+7%), while hot-rolled products amounted to 341.2 thousand tons (+8.7%), and cold-rolled products – 79.3 thousand tons (-0.9%). Import costs in 2024 reached 1.08 billion USD, which is 5% more compared to the previous year.