Ukraine’s pipemakers decreased exports in October compared with the previous month, according to national customs data.

Total volume delivered amounted to 40,000 tonnes, down by 23% month-on-month, Kallanish notes. Seamless pipe shipments were 24,700t, down 34% compared with September. However, exports of welded tube rose by 42% on-month to 9,200t.

In January-October, Ukraine exported 426,000t of pipe, up 40% on-year. Shipments of seamless pipe increased by 50% to 363,000t and welded tube by 2% to 62,000t.

Most shipments went to the EU, USA, Middle East and Central Asia.

In 2023, Ukraine exported 356,350t of pipe, down by 11.8% on-year. In monetary terms, pipe shipments amounted to $587 million, less by 15%.

The Ukrainian market needs protection from dumped imports from China, national pipemaker association Ukrtruboprom said earlier.

Largest pipemaker Interpipe said it is strengthening its activities in the Middle East markets, in particular, in Saudi Arabia (see Kallanish passim). It aims to expand its share in the construction pipe segment in the region, focusing on long-term partnerships with customers.

The firm increased pipe output in the first half of the year by 23.4% on-year to 258,000t and sales rose 35.4% to 264,000t. The bulk were sent to Europe, 112,000t, up 37.4% on-year, while the US took 45% more at 38,000t.

Interpipe previously said it was trying to reach pre-war production levels of 70,000 t/month compared to 50,000 t/m of production currently.

Ukrainian stainless seamless pipe producer Centravis increased production in January-September to 10,180t, up by 8% on-year (see Kallanish passim). The share of exports in production reached 98.9%. The main sales markets are EU countries, the USA, the Middle East and Asia.