According to the data released by metal trading enterprise Ukrainian Mining and Metallurgical Company (UGMK), in the first two months of 2010 Ukraine's imports of steel products amounted to about 176,500 mt, almost triple the volume for the same period last year.
In January-February 2010, the share of tubular billets in the overall steel imports to Ukraine increased from 22.8 percent in the same period last year to 30.1 percent, the share of HRC went up from 12.1 percent to 27.9 percent, the share of rounds rose from seven percent to 10.9 percent, while the share of galvanized steel increased from 5.3 percent to 10 percent. These increases are due to the significant drop in rebar imports (from 25.1 percent to two percent), as well as due to the year-on-year decreases of the shares of pipes and CRC in Ukraine's total volume of steel imports, from 14.6 percent to 4.8 percent and from 9.4 percent to 5.3 percent respectively, UGMK noted.
In February 2010, the biggest share in overall steel imports to Ukraine was held by tubular billets (35.3 percent - up 11.4 percent month on month), followed by HRC (23.6 percent - down 9.5 percent month on month), rounds (10.5 percent - down one percent month on month), and galvanized steel (9.5 percent - down one percent month on month).
In January-February 2010, imports of steel products in Ukraine were as follows:
Product | Jan-Feb 2009 (mt) | Jan 2010 (mt) | Feb 2010 (mt) | Jan-Feb 2010 (mt) | Change (mt) | Change (%) |
14,942 | 2,060 | 1,426 | 3,486 | -11,456 | -76.7 | |
Beam | 243 | 542 | 754 | 1,296 | +1,053 | +433.7 |
Wire rod | 532 | 1,743 | 385 | 2,128 | +1,596 | +300.2 |
Rounds | 4,214 | 9,276 | 10,039 | 19,314 | +15,100 | +358.3 |
7,216 | 26,711 | 22,605 | 49,316 | +42,101 | +583.5 | |
Galvanized steel | 3,144 | 8,468 | 9,146 | 17,614 | + 14,470 | +460.3 |
5,573 | 4,577 | 4,856 | 9,433 | +3,859 | +69.2 | |
Pipes | 8,698 | 3,148 | 5,387 | 8,536 | -162 | -1.9 |
Angle | 330 | 43 | 445 | 488 | + 158 | +47.9 |
Channel | 116 | 76 | 41 | 117 | + 1 | +1.1 |
Tubular billet | 13,562 | 19,291 | 33,811 | 53,102 | + 39,540 | +291.6 |
Other | 846 | 4,708 | 6,947 | 11,656 | + 10,809 | +1277.7 |
Total | 59,415 | 80,644 | 95,841 | 176,485 | +117,070 | + 197 |
In January-February 2010, Ukraine's main importers of steel were the pipe sector, which increased its share of overall steel imports into the country to 46.6 percent, from 27.8 percent for January-February 2009, while the machine building sector saw its share of overall imports rising to 18.7 percent, compared to 15.6 percent in the same period last year. Meanwhile, the local metal trade sector saw a decrease in its share of steel imports to 15.4 percent, down from 35.4 percent in the first two months of 2009, UGMK said.