In January of this year, Ukraine’s steel production decreased by 84.7% compared to January 2022, reaching 284 thousand tonnes. The country’s production of cast iron decreased by 84.6% compared to January 2022, reaching 240 thousand tonnes, and the production of rolled products decreased by 84.6 per cent compared to the same month of 2022 to reach 257 thousand tonnes.

Production increased compared to December 2022, as steel production in January 2023 increased by 2.7 times, rolled products production in January 2023 increased by 2.4 times, and cast iron production decreased by 2.8%.

The low production of Ukrainian steel producers is associated with logistical problems, unfavourable conditions in the world market, and the destruction due to the Russo-Ukrainian war of the two largest iron and steel enterprises in Ukraine.

After the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the end of February 2022, Europe became the only market for Ukrainian products. At the same time, the difficulty of delivering goods by rail with higher freight costs and lower demand for products is due to unfavourable market conditions for those factors. Iron and steel enterprises in Ukraine operate at a low level of capacity utilization.

Some even paused. In addition, on October 10, 2022, the Russian Federation bombed the state electricity infrastructure in Ukraine, causing problems in the regions’ power supply and industry.