Izabela Swiatkowska – SEC Newgate CEE
According to GMK Center estimates, Ukraine needs 3.2 million tons of coke annually to maintain its current production level. Import volumes may increase due to Metinvest Group closing its mine in Pokrovsk and deciding to sell its subsidiary United Coal Company, a coking coal producer in the USA.
Currently, most of Ukraine’s mines and coke-chemical enterprises remain in uncontrolled territories (a total of 64%). As indicated by the GMK Center think tank, between 2013 and 2024, coking coal production in Ukraine fell by 74%, and coke production by almost 85%. In 2024, Ukraine imported nearly 661.5 tons of coke and semi-coke, which is twice as much as in 2023. In 2025, import expenditures increased by 81.9% to 235.5 million dollars.
In the January-November period of 2025, Ukrainian metallurgical enterprises increased imports of coke and semi-coke (HS 2704) by 3.2% compared to the same period in 2024, reaching 642.8 thousand tons. Most of the supplies over the 11 months came from Poland – over 602 thousand tons. At the same time, from January to November 2025, Ukraine also imported nearly 27.7 thousand tons of coke from Indonesia and 13.06 tons from the Czech Republic. GMK Center’s calculations are based on data from the State Customs Service.
While Ukraine’s total expenditures on raw material imports during the 11 months of 2025 decreased by 2.2% compared to the same period last year, amounting to 217.99 million USD, in November alone they increased year-on-year by 108.2%, reaching 29.17 million USD. Coke imports doubled year-on-year, reaching 85.3 tons (an increase of 28.8% compared to October 2025).
In November last year, supplies from Poland increased by 32.4% compared to the previous month (83.87 thousand tons), while 1.47 thousand tons were delivered from the Czech Republic.
