Between January and July 2026, Ukraine imported around 10.9 thousand tonnes of manganese ore, whereas there were no imports of this product during the same period last year.
According to data from the State Customs Service, virtually the entire volume of supplies came from Ghana — 10,896 thousand tonnes worth $1.677 million. A further 5 tonnes, worth $3,000, were imported from China.
Ghana thus accounted for 99.82 per cent of the value of Ukraine’s imports of manganese ore in January–July.
The resumption of supplies coincides with the resumption of foreign trade in manganese ore as a whole. Over the seven-month period, Ukraine exported 24,647 thousand tonnes of such products, worth $4,227 million.
The average estimated cost of exported ore was around $171 per tonne, whilst that of ore imported from Ghana was around $154 per tonne. These figures are calculated on the basis of customs value and physical volumes of shipments and do not reflect differences in the quality and characteristics of the raw material.
Imports of manganese ore into Ukraine have fluctuated significantly in recent years. In 2024, the country imported 84,293 thousand tonnes, worth $18.302 million.
In 2025, imports fell to 37,006 thousand tonnes, valued at $5.546 million. However, the entire volume was supplied from Ghana in November alone, whilst there were virtually no imports between January and October.
The resumption of supplies as early as the first half of 2026 may indicate a growing demand for raw materials from the ferroalloy industry against the backdrop of a gradual resumption of production.
The main consumers of manganese ore in Ukraine are enterprises in the ferroalloy sector. The Nikopol and Zaporizhzhia ferroalloy plants suspended smelting after Ukrainian mining and processing plants ceased extraction of raw manganese ore in the autumn of 2023; however, ferroalloy production was partially resumed in the summer of 2024.