According to reports, the Ukrainian government is negotiating with Thailand for the reduction of customs import duty on steel products from Ukraine.
The total volume of commodity turnover between Ukraine and Thailand in the current year up to September reached a value of $170.2 million. About 90 percent of the total Ukrainian export volume to Thailand is comprised of steel products.
The main Ukrainian supplier of steel products to Thailand is Ilyich Iron and Steel Works of Mariupol (Ilyich), for which the import duty on rolled steel products stands at the level of 32 percent. Meanwhile, for other Ukrainian steel exporters the import duty is more than two times higher, amounting to 72 percent. This difference in taxation is caused by the specific policy of Thailand, which considers that, compared to other Ukrainian steel exporters, only Ilyich sells its products at the market price.
Ukraine's main competitors in Thailand's steel market are the Chinese steel producers. However, according to experts, the Ukrainian companies are in a more advantageous position, as Thailand fears Chinese expansion into the country and therefore the cancellation of its import duty on steel products from China is considered to be unlikely. In addition, due to the low value of the Ukrainian currency (hryvna) compared to the US dollar, Ukrainian steel products have a lower production cost than Chinese steel products.