Ukraine's titanium ore exports plunge in Jan-Feb 2025

MOSCOW. March 19 (Interfax) - Ukraine's exports of titanium ores and concentrates plummeted 81% by volume year-on-year to 277 tonnes in January-February 2025.

In value terms, exports of titanium ores and concentrates dropped 97.2% to $496,000 in the reporting period, Ukrainian media said, citing data from the State Customs Service of Ukraine.

The main importers in January-February 2025 were Uzbekistan (35.61% of these exports by value), Turkey (35.01%) and Egypt (29.38%).

At the same time, experts have pointed to discrepancies in the titanium ore export statistics. In particular, Velta Production and Commercial Firm LLC, which has titanium ore mining assets in Novomirgorod, Kirovograd region, said in reply to a media inquiry that it exported more than 15,000 tonnes of ilmenite (a titanium concentrate) to the Czech Republic and Mexico in January-February 2024 alone. Experts also believe that the statistics provided by the State Customs Service might cover only rutile (another a titanium ore).

Ukraine imported 22 tonnes of titanium ores for $37,000 from China (100%) in January-February 2025. The shipments were made in January.

As previously reported, Ukraine's exports of titanium ores and concentrates declined 37.5% by volume year-on-year to 7,284 tonnes in 2024. In value terms, exports of titanium ores and concentrates dropped 40% to $11.654 million. The largest markets last year were Turkey (62.82% of these exports by value), Egypt (7.38%) and Poland (6.93%).

Last year, Ukraine imported 314 tonnes of titanium ores for $492,000 from China (87.78%), Vietnam (6.11%) and Senegal (6.11%).

Experts also noted discrepancies in the titanium ore export statistics. The State Customs Service, in turn, said in reply to a media inquiry that it cannot publish full data on titanium raw material exports due to restrictions on volumes of export-import operations with military and dual-purpose goods: data on export-import operations involving military and dual-purpose goods is available in aggregate form in the Miscellaneous section.

Ukrainian companies' actual exports of titanium ores differ from the State Customs Service's figures, it said.

"For your information: these shipments are included in the statistics of exports from Ukraine, but are not mentioned in the foreign trade statistics [...] as UKTVED 2614 commodity, titanium ores and concentrates, because for the purpose of protecting information due to its confidentiality, any information deemed as confidential is provided in full at the next, higher level of aggregation of data on this commodity," the service said.

Information on customs clearance and transfer over Ukraine's customs border of goods subject to export control is included in the list of the State Customs Service's internal information in accordance with the corresponding order.

Currently, titanium ores in Ukraine are mined primarily by United Mining Company, which manages the Volnogorsk Mining and Metallurgical Plant in the Dnepropetrovsk region and the Irshansk Mining and Processing Plant in the Zhitomir region, as well as by the Mezhdurechensk Mining and Processing Plant and Valki-Ilmenit LLC, both located in Irshansk, Zhitomir region. In addition, Velta LLC has built a mining and processing plant at the Birzulovsky deposit with an annual capacity of 240,000 tonnes of ilmenite concentrate.