According to the data issued by the Ukrainian Association of Metal Traders, in the first month of 2009 the country decreased its steel consumption by 43.6 percent year on year to 311,043 metric tons. Meanwhile, during the month in question, imports of steel products to Ukraine went down by 92.4 percent year on year to 13,353 metric tons.
Accordingly, in January 2009, the Ukrainian pipe making companies reduced purchases of domestic and imported steel products by 25 percent to 82,763 mt, the construction companies cut purchases by 66.8 percent to 5,956 mt, railway producers - by 89.3 percent to 1,177 mt, and hardware producers - by 61.4 percent to 20,750 mt, all compared with the same month of the previous year. Furthermore, Ukrainian steel sellers, including the smaller ones, reduced their purchases by 51.8 percent to 88,373 mt, mining and metallurgical companies cut their purchases by 1.5 percent to 67,624 mt, while machine building companies decreased purchases by 61.1 percent to 39,395 mt, all compared with the data for January 2008.
In 2008, Ukraine reduced its steel consumption by 16.5 percent to 7,891,270 metric tons, while the imports of steel products to the country increased by 6.6 percent to 1,766,160 metric tons.