The fall in demand has led to rolled metal imports accounting for 47 per cent of the Ukrainian market

According to Open4Business, the Ukrainian rolled steel market contracted by 13.79 per cent in January–September 2026 compared with the same period last year, falling to 2.728 million tonnes, according to data from the ‘Ukrmetallurgprom’ association. At the same time, the domestic market’s dependence on imported products has increased significantly. Over the nine-month period, Ukraine imported 1.276 million tonnes of rolled steel, which accounts for 46.78 per cent of domestic consumption. A year earlier, the Ukrainian market totalled 3.1645 million tonnes, whilst imports stood at 1.2395 million tonnes, or 39.17 per cent. Thus, despite a decline in overall demand, the share of imported rolled steel increased by 7.61 percentage points over the year. In fact, almost every second tonne of rolled steel consumed on Ukraine’s domestic market in January–September 2026 was imported. During this period, Ukrainian steelworks produced 3.729 million tonnes of rolled steel, representing 77 per cent of the figure for January–September 2025. The decline in domestic consumption follows a significant recovery in the market last year. By the end of 2025, the rolled steel market had grown by 21.73 per cent to 4.002 million tonnes, with imports accounting for 40.07 per cent. By way of comparison: in 2024, the Ukrainian rolled steel market stood at 3.288 million tonnes, and in 2023 at 3.506 million tonnes. Source: ‘Ukrmetallurgprom’, State Customs Service of Ukraine.