97 tonnes in January: Sharp dip in Ukraine’s bauxite imports M-o-M amid geopolitical disruptions

As of January 2026, Ukraine has managed to expand its imports of aluminium ore of bauxite to 97 tonnes from 31 tonnes in the previous year. However, the m-o-m scenario speaks differently.

The State Customs Service (SCS) released the import numbers for December on Tuesday, February 10, representing 5,556 tonnes. With China being the main supplier of bauxite in Ukraine throughout January 2026, the numbers increased from USD 27 thousand to USD 83 thousand, without Ukraine being the re-exporter in the year.

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In 2025, aluminium ore imports in Ukraine were 23.7 per cent (43.5 thousand tonnes) more than in the previous year in terms of material, which was 15.8 per cent (USD 4.7 million) in terms of financial comparison. The primary suppliers were Turkey, with 81.84 per cent holding the share, followed by China, holding around 16 per cent and Guyana with 2.2 per cent. An undulating trend of imports was seen in the January to September span, showing 31.25 tonnes in the first month, then around 4 thousand tonnes in the next three months. Imports declined from May to July (70.5, 42.5 and 63.75 tonnes respectively), again reaching a peak in August with 10.3 thousand tonnes. This volatility in the import volumes was largely impacted by the prevailing wartime situation.

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The import statistics climbed to 77.4 per cent in 2024, with 173 thousand tonnes of commodities purchased with USD 4.12 million (74 per cent more ) compared to the previous year. Turkey remained the most important exporter with 78.48 per cent share before China (19.48 per cent) and Spain (1.6 per cent).

The 2023 showed 19.38 million tonnes of raw materials imported from Turkey, china and Guinea worth USD 2.36 million. In the year 2022, the nation had a significant reduction in its imports, about 81.5 per cent in relation to 2021, a 945.4 million tonnes in physical terms. A 79.6 per cent cost savings took place, which is about USD 48.2 million, following the reduction in the imports from Guinea, Brazil and Ghana with their shares of 59 per cent, 27.2 percent and 7.5 per cent in terms of money.

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Besides coke as an essential input, a decline in imports by 4.6 per cent in physical terms (491 thousand tonnes) in 2024 led Ukraine to import this amount of bauxite, vital not only for aluminium but also as a crucial flux in ferrous metallurgy, supporting steel production, to sustain its metallurgical industry despite domestic disruptions from the war. Bauxite imports surge by 39.4 per cent in early 2025, reaching 27.22 thousand tonnes by September to compensate for the shutdown of Mykoliv Alumina Plant, leading to suspension of local processing and to fulfil industrial needs, primarily supplying the aluminium sector.