According to Open4Business, between January and September 2026, Ukraine increased its imports of insulated wires and cables by 22.7 per cent to $540.7 million, with China, for the first time, significantly outpacing traditional European suppliers in this segment. According to data from the State Customs Service, imports of Chinese cable products reached $157 million, compared with $92.6 million for the same period last year. Consequently, in just one year, supplies from China rose by approximately 69.5 per cent, and its share of Ukrainian imports of wires and cables approached 29 per cent. Hungary remains the second-largest supplier. Over the nine-month period, Ukraine imported $124 million worth of wires and cables from Hungary, compared with $114 million a year earlier, representing an increase of approximately 8.8 per cent.
Poland took third place, with supplies worth $74 million, compared with $74.7 million in January–September 2025. Thus, China, Hungary and Poland together accounted for around $355 million, or almost two-thirds of Ukraine’s total imports of cable products. The main change in the market structure was the strengthening of China’s position. Just a year ago, Hungary was the largest supplier, whereas now the value of Chinese imports exceeds that of Hungary’s by approximately $33 million. The rapid growth in imports may be linked to increased demand for electrical products, the restoration of energy infrastructure, telecommunications projects, construction, industrial equipment and automotive components. At the same time, imports are growing significantly faster than exports.
Over the first nine months, Ukrainian exports of wires and cables remained roughly at last year’s level — $1.065 billion — whilst imports rose by almost a quarter. By the end of 2025, Ukraine had imported $590.7 million worth of wires and cables, which was 24.3 per cent higher than in 2024. In the first nine months of 2026 alone, the volume of imports had already approached the total for the whole of the previous year.