According to the data issued for March 2009, during the month in question Ukraine registered a 51.4 percent increase year on year in its pig iron exports to 170,200 mt.
The largest consumer of Ukrainian origin pig iron in March 2009 was China, which imported 158,980 mt of this raw material from Ukraine, i.e. 93.4 percent of Ukraine's total pig iron exports.
In the first quarter of 2009, Ukraine's exports of pig iron increased by 59.2 percent to 300,730 mt, compared to the first quarter of 2008.