EU Imported Russian Iron, Steel Products Worth $2.7 Billion in 2024

The European Union imported €2.5 billion ($2.7 billion) worth of iron and steel products from Russia in 2024 despite the sanctions, the report by the Ukrainian expertise center on industry and the mining and metals sector (GMK Center) says.

Last year, the EU imported 5.34 million tons of iron and steel products from Russia, the report says.

According to the GMK center, Russian steelmakers can export to EU markets during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine because of weak sanctions. 

Italy, Belgium, and the Czech Republic are among the top buyers.

The largest share of these imports was semi-finished products, totaling 3.15 million tons, which is 1.1% more than in 2023, the report showed.

The main buyers of Russian semi-finished steel were Belgium with 1.22 million tons (+5.4% year-over-year), Italy with 781.92 thousand tons (-9.9% y/y), Denmark with 467.39 thousand tons (+6.5% y/y), and the Czech Republic – 425.65 thousand tons (+11% y/y). 

EU countries also imported 1.03 million tons of pig iron from Russia, which is 26.9% less than in 2023. The biggest consumer was Italy with 769.56 thousand tons of imports, which confirms its key dependence on Russian supplies, the GMK Center report says.

Latvia imported another 147.72 thousand tons, 43.1% more than the previous year, most likely to sell it to other countries.

According to the GMK Center report, direct reduced iron (DRI) was also one of the top three most imported resources. Last year, Russia sent 1.04 million tons of DRI to the EU. 

Most of it went to Italy – 487.99 thousand tons (30.8% less than the previous year). Belgium bought 207.2 thousand tons (a 0.7% increase), and Poland imported 202.8 thousand tons, which was 210% more than in 2023.

In total, Russian direct reduced iron made up about 40% of all DRI imports to the EU. According to the report, this shows that the European steel industry’s shift to greener production still heavily depends on raw materials from Russia.

Meanwhile, the EU reduced its iron ore imports from Russia, dropping from 332.3 thousand tons to just 9.36 thousand tons last year.  

At the same time, ferroalloy imports grew by 36.6% to 60.99 thousand tons, with the Netherlands being the main buyer at 46.14 thousand tons (+40.1% y/y), the report says.

Scrap imports also rose by 33.5% to 42.6 thousand tons, mostly going to Lithuania, which imported 40.62 thousand tons (+29.6%).

Can Ukraine replace Russian supplies of steel products?

GMK Center said in its report that Ukraine, as a candidate and future member of the European Economic Area, could replace Russian suppliers. 

Ukrainian producers can increase the production and export of semi-finished products, cast iron, and DRI, helping the EU reduce its reliance on Russian raw materials while also supporting Ukraine’s economy. 

However, this would require additional investment in production capacity and strong political will from European countries, the report says.