Steel mills in Ukraine witnessed a decrease in semi-finished steel export volumes in October, according to the official customs data. In addition, the sellers’ revenues also registered a decline in this period due to the unfavourable price situation in the global steel markets. In addition, Ukraine’s steel sector is still clearly struggling with the challenges caused by the war with Russia, mainly the loss of production assets, raw material supply problems, logistics, and disrupted domestic market activities.
According to the customs data, Ukraine exported 110,120 mt of semi-finished steel products in October, down 23.6 percent month on month. Most of the volume was square billet, SteelOrbis understands, given the limited possibility for Ukraine to sell slabs due to the ongoing war and consequently the loss of mills in the regions occupied by Russia. The main destinations for ex-Ukraine semis were Bulgaria with a 35.4 percent share of the revenue, followed by Poland (23.8 percent) and Italy (10 percent). It is worth mentioning that the sales to Bulgaria represent billet shipments from one of Ukraine’s steel producers to its longs producing asset in Bulgaria.
The revenue from the steel semis exports from Ukraine fell by almost 20 percent over the same period to $52.9 million, the data state. In the January-October period this year, Ukraine exported 1.034 million mt of semis, down by over 40 percent year on year.