According to preliminary data, in 2019 exports of pig iron from Ukraine declined by 14.2 percent year on year to 2.6 million mt, while in value the country’s pig iron exports decreased by 23.8 percent year on year to $801.9 million.
Although the US remained the largest sales destination for Ukrainian pig iron sellers in 2019 with a 58 percent share, supply volumes to this destination still decreased in the given year. The main reason were the protectionism measures in the US aimed at increasing local steel and pig iron usage in manufacturing for national infrastructure products, SteelOrbis understands. In 2019, Ukraine sold 473,122 mt of pig iron to the US, down by 157,206 mt year on year.
Italy and Turkey ranked in second and third places respectively with 12.43 percent and 10.27 percent shares in Ukraine’s pig iron exports in 2019. Customs data for the first quarter of the current year are expected to show pig iron exports from Ukraine to China as at least a couple of cargoes have been sold to the latter destination, as SteelOrbis has heard.