Ferroalloy exports began to recover, but losses remain significant

Ukraine reduced ferroalloy exports by 56% in January-September 2026 compared to the same period last year. At the same time, in September, overseas shipments more than doubled, indicating a partial recovery of export activity after a prolonged decline.

This is reported by GMK Center citing its own calculations based on data from the State Customs Service.

In the nine months, Ukrainian enterprises exported 34 thousand tons of ferroalloys against approximately 78 thousand tons in the same period of 2025.

Meanwhile, September became one of the most successful months for exporters since the beginning of the year. Ukrainian producers shipped 10.2 thousand tons of products to foreign markets, which is 119% more than in August, and exceeds the September figure last year by 173%.

Financial results of exports also improved over the last month. In September, foreign exchange revenue from ferroalloy sales amounted to $12.5 million — 123% more than in August, and 189% more in annual terms.

However, the overall result for nine months remains negative. Export revenue of Ukrainian ferroalloy companies fell to $41 million compared to $87 million in the corresponding period of 2025. Thus, proceeds from overseas sales decreased by approximately 53%.

The main market for Ukrainian ferroalloys remains Poland. In January-September, Ukrainian enterprises delivered 17.3 thousand tons of products to this country — more than half of all exports.

The top three buyers also included Romania and Italy, which received 4.4 thousand and 3.7 thousand tons respectively.

At the same time, in September, shipments to Poland and Italy were especially notable. Each of these countries received 3.4 thousand tons of Ukrainian ferroalloys.

The difficult situation in the sector persists since the beginning of 2026. In January and February, Ukrainian enterprises exported only 840 tons of ferroalloys against 19.17 thousand tons in the same period of the previous year.

One of the main reasons was problems with electricity supply and high electricity prices.

As Serhiy Kudryavtsev, executive director of the Ukrainian Association of Ferroalloy Producers, previously explained, after operating at minimum load in 2025, ferroalloy enterprises were forced to shut down production on January 19, 2026.

According to him, electricity costs account for more than half of the cost of ferroalloy products. Additional challenges for enterprises were disruptions of logistics routes, personnel shortages, and operation of production facilities near the combat zone.

Of particular importance are difficulties in transporting raw materials due to damage to transport connections between Marhanets and Nikopol.

By comparison, in 2025, the Ukrainian ferroalloy industry demonstrated export growth. Then enterprises supplied 93.84 thousand tons of products to foreign markets, which is 21.4% more than in 2024. Export revenue amounted to $105.44 million.

Thus, the current September uptick does not yet compensate for the export decline accumulated over previous months. Despite increased shipments at the end of the third quarter, overall volumes of external supplies remain significantly lower than last year.

Based on materials: GMK Center,, GMK Center