Black Sea blockade could cost Ukraine up to half its iron ore exports
Alternative routes for shipping Ukrainian iron ore with the sea corridor halted would make the product uncompetitive in China.
The Black Sea blockade threatens to slash Ukraine's iron ore exports by up to half, according to Valerii Tkachov, deputy director of Ukrzaliznytsia's commercial operations department. Transporting the metal through sea routes is becoming uneconomical as it would be uncompetitive in China, with the export losses potentially reaching 30%–50%.
Even if Ukraine can maximize sales to Europe, the country is still set to lose around 30%–40% of its iron ore exports, valued at 500,000 metric tons monthly. Currently, 95% of Ukraine's iron ore shipments are by rail, with 59% of that to the ports of Greater Odesa. The ferrous metal exports have recently reached 8 million metric tons, with 40% transported by rail.
Larger challenges lie in exporting metals to the EU, such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and additional tariffs, despite the situation for metals being comparatively better than iron ore.
Written by urgent.news from New Voice of Ukraine's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
