[Market Insight] Ukrainian Steel Industry Overview

Ukraine is one of the world's largest producers of steel and exporters of iron ore.

According to Ukrmetalurgprom, Ukrainian steel trade association, the country

• produced 21.4 million mt of crude steel in 2021, up by 3.6%;

• pig iron production was 21.2 million tons, growing by 3.6%;

• rolled steel production was 19.1 million tons, hiking by 3.5%;

• steel pipe production reaching 980,000 tons, down by 15%, all on a Y-o-Y basis.

On top of that Ukrainian steel accounts for about a 10th of European steel imports, so any disruption to mills or shipments would make Europe's already sluggish market even more strained, while potentially driving steel prices to new highs after they reached a record last year.

Key producers in Ukraine include Metinvest BV, which has production facilities in the industrial heartland of eastern Ukraine, including sites by the Dnieper River, and two large plants in Mariupol.

ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel producer, owns Ukraine's largest steel mill in Kryvyi Rih, a city in central Ukraine. Ferrexpo Plc is the world's third-largest iron ore pellets producer with all operations in Ukraine, about 350 kilometers southeast of Kyiv. Interpipe, the world’s top ten largest seamless steel pipes manufacturers, also has a production facility located in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast of Ukraine.

In addition, according to the Ukrainian Port Authority, roughly 60% of Ukraine’s ferrous metals that are exported by sea go through Black Sea ports of Odesa, Pivdennyi, Mykolayiv and Chornomorsk, and Chernomorsk, and about a fifth is exported from Mariupol.

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As an integrated steel trading solution provider, we, CUMIC Steel Limited, have long-term cooperation with over 300 mills worldwide. In particular, we are able to provide all-in-one solutions including products from these top mills for your industrial needs.