Ukraine’s exports of ferroalloys increased by 31.9% year over year to 87,380 mt in January-October, and rose 25.5% in monetary terms to $98.1 million, the state customs service reported on Nov. 14.
Poland was the leading buyer, taking 22,590 mt, or 25.8%, up 39.4% year over year. Algeria was second with 21,280 mt (24.4%), followed by Turkey with 18,940 mt (21.7%).
In October alone, Ukraine exported 9,870 mt of ferroalloys, compared with 3,740 mt in September and 7,090 mt in October 2024.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s ferroalloy industry is facing growing power costs that may have a negative effect on the sector, along with intensifying fighting with Russian forces near major production facilities, warned the Ukrainian Ferroalloys Association, or UkrFA.
Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant, the country’s largest producer, is located less than 15 km from the frontline, while Zaporizhia Ferroalloy Plant sits about 55 km away. Both plants have been operating at minimal capacity since resuming production in mid-2024 after a six-month shutdown.
UkrFA said the government’s plan to increase electricity transmission tariffs in 2026 may cause setbacks, or even halt production at some energy-intensive plants. The energy regulating body, NERC, approved on Nov. 11 draft resolutions to increase transmission tariffs by 15% and dispatching tariffs by 11% from Jan. 1, 2026.
“These changes will deliver another blow to domestic electrometallurgy, for which electricity is the key cost component,” UkrFA said in a statement. The association added that the tariff hike could significantly increase production costs, undermine export competitiveness, and force shutdowns of individual furnaces or workshops.
UkrFA called on the government and the regulator to reduce Ukrenergo’s massive spending goals in order to keep the current power tariff levels to prevent further destabilization of the metallurgical sector.
Ferroalloy plants rely entirely on domestic manganese ore as imports stopped in 2024. Although local ore mining has remained idle since its shutdown in 2023, the plants are using pre-war stockpiles that are expected to last six to 12 months, UkrFA said.
Ukraine, once one of the world’s largest ferroalloy producers, exported 77,310 mt in 2024, down 77.5% year over year.