During the first five months of 2025, the European Union imported 2.57 million tons of metal products from the Russian Federation, spending over €1.06 billion on this. Despite the existing sanctions, the volume of purchases increased by 1.1% compared to the same period last year.
This is reported by Business • Media
Structure of Metal Product Imports from Russia
The largest portion of the imports consisted of semi-finished products: during this period, 1.49 million tons of this product were delivered to EU countries, amounting to €681.93 million. The share of pig iron also remained significant – 696,990 tons were purchased, which is 68.5% more than in January–May 2024.
Financial Condition of Russian Metallurgical Companies
At the same time, the financial indicators of leading Russian metallurgical enterprises continue to decline. In particular, the net profit of the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works for the first half of 2025 decreased to 5.6 billion rubles, which is approximately 89% less than last year’s result. This significant drop in the company is attributed to a decrease in business activity, a high key interest rate in Russia that is dampening domestic demand for metal products, as well as a reduction in export volume. Further pressure on demand is expected in the third quarter due to the continued high key interest rate, which will further restrain investments in construction and machinery manufacturing.
“In the third quarter, demand pressure will persist, as the high key interest rate will continue to cool investment activity in construction and machinery manufacturing.”
Additionally, it is reported that in June 2025, the production of passenger cars in Russia decreased by 28.2% year-on-year, to 45,000 units.