According to the data released by metal trading enterprise Ukrainian Mining and Metallurgical Company (UGMK), during the first nine months of 2009 Ukraine's imports of steel products registered a decline of 64.4 percent year on year to 527,900 mt.
Accordingly, during the period in question, the biggest decreases year on year in imports in the Ukrainian steel market were registered by shaped sections; imports of channel dropped by 87.3 percent, imports of angles fell by 85.8 percent, while imports of beam went down by 74.3 percent. The next biggest decreases in imports were recorded by flat steel products; HRC imports dropped by 86.9 percent, CRC imports fell by 67 percent, and galvanized steel imports went down by 48.1 percent, all compared to the same period last year.
In January-September 2009, imports of steel products in Ukraine were as follows:
Product | Jan-Sept 2008 (mt) | Jan-Sept 2009 (mt) | Change (mt) | Change (%) |
79,796 | 45,548 | -34,248 | -42.92 | |
Beam | 22,924 | 5,902 | -17,022 | -74.25 |
Wire rod | 12,497 | 4,069 | -8,428 | -67.44 |
Round | 71,603 | 46,770 | -24,833 | -34.68 |
637,122 | 83,677 | -553,445 | -86.87 | |
Galvanized steel | 142,819 | 74,065 | -68,754 | -48.14 |
170,444 | 56,299 | -114,145 | -66.97 | |
Angle | 19,858 | 2,827 | -17,031 | -85.76 |
Channel | 16,491 | 2,093 | -14,398 | -87.31 |
Pipes | 64,099 | 28,423 | -35,676 | -55.66 |
Other | 243,762 | 178,238 | -65,524 | -26.88 |
Total | 1,481,415 | 527,911 | -953,504 | -64.36 |
In the January-September period, Ukraine's main importer of steel was the pipe sector, which increased its share of overall steel imports into the country to 42.6 percent, from 29.9 percent in the same period of the previous year; meanwhile, the local metal trade sector has continued to see a decrease in its share of steel imports, from 31.8 percent to 19.8 percent year on year, according to the UGMK report.