Ukraine climbed to 13th place in the ranking of the largest iron-producing countries and 21st place in the list of the largest steel producers. In the first half of the year, Ukraine produced 3.47 million tons of pig iron, 22.25% more compared to January-June 2023. Steel production in Ukraine during the reporting period increased by 36.96% to 3.87 million tons. Overall, global pig iron production in the first half of the year decreased by 1.79% to 704 million tons and steel by 0.01% to 954.7 million tons.
Traditionally, Ukraine’s mining and metallurgical complex is an export-oriented industry. In the first half of the year, the export of iron ore amounted to 18.3 million tons for a total of $1.6B, semi-finished products, and rolled metal 2.9 million tons for $1.7B. Such volume makes mining and metallurgical products very significant to the operation of Ukraine’s entire transport complex, accounting for approximately 35% of port transshipment and 45% of rail cargo transportation for export.