In 2006,
Ukraine registered a 14 percent increase in its
pipe production year on year to 2.6 million metric tons.
During the period in question, the country also saw an increase in its
pipe exports. Thus, in 2006
Ukraine exported about two million metric tons of pipes - up 16.6 percent compared to 2005.
In December alone,
Ukraine exported 179,479 metric tons of pipes, showing a slight decrease as compared to November 2006. The main importers of Ukrainian pipes in December were
Russia – with a 41.6 percent share of Ukrainian
pipe exports,
UAE – with a 5.9 percent share, and
Germany – with 5.8 percent.
On the other hand, imports of
pipe by
Ukraine in December 2006 almost retained their levels of the previous month. Thus, during the period in question,
Ukraine imported 7,300 metric tons of pipes, mostly from
Russia,
Italy and
China.