Despite the ongoing Russian hostilities in Ukraine and their extremely negative impact on Ukraine's steel production, in December last year Ukrainian steel mills managed to increase their pig iron export shipments by 24.4 percent month on month to 97,450 mt. Meanwhile, in terms of value, Ukraine’s pig iron exports in the given month rose by 26.6 percent compared to November to $36.08 million. Nevertheless, Ukraine’s pig iron exports in volume terms in December remained 69.8 percent below the levels in the same month of the previous year and concurrently, were down 75.7 percent year on year in terms of value.
Meanwhile, in 2022, Ukraine's pig iron exports totaled 1.32 million mt, down 59 percent year on year. In terms of value, Ukraine's pig iron exports amounted to $638.8 million, down 61.1 percent year on year. In particular, the US remained the leading destination for Ukraine's pig iron exports, with its shipments in the given year accounting for 38.47 percent of the total value of pig iron exports, while Poland and Turkey accounted for 32.91 percent and 8.12 percent shares, respectively.
Apart from war-related issues, Ukraine's pig iron output in 2022 were affected by the deterioration of the business environment in the global market. Accordingly, its pig iron output in 2022 decreased by 69.8 percent year on year to 6.39 million mt. In December alone, Ukraine's pig iron output totaled 247,000 mt.