Pig iron exporters from Ukraine have started the year with some significant improvement in their sales.
According to the preliminary customs data, in January, Ukraine’s pig iron exports increased by 24.4 percent year on year to 348,800 mt. In terms of value, pig iron exports rose by 10.1 percent year on year to $104.7 million. China accounted for 40.28 percent of the export value, while the US and Turkey took 35.23 and 11.2 percent respectively.
Ukraine’s pig iron production in January, however, declined by 5.1 percent year on year to 1.7 million mt, which is a sign of weaker usage by the local blast furnace-based steel producers.
In 2019, Ukraine produced 20.06 million mt of pig iron, up two percent year on year, while exports declined by 14.2 percent year on year to 2.6 million mt, SteelOrbis has learned.