A Look at Russia's Iron Imports in Europe

Reports released in January 2025 indicate that the European Union significantly increased its imports of pig iron from Russia, reaching a record high. 

According to the statistics, the volume of pig iron imports from Russia in this month has reached 474.54 thousand tons, compared to 36.3 thousand tons in January 2024 and only 0.6 thousand tons in December 2024, indicating a remarkable growth. Among the EU member states, Italy was the largest importer of Russian pig iron in January 2025, importing 347.73 thousand tons of this product.

According to reports, pig iron imports from Russia to Europe have not been entirely banned, but rather, under EU sanctions, quota restrictions have been applied to them. In January 2025, European producers consumed about 67.8% of the annual quota set. This increases the likelihood that the quota will be fully consumed within the next two to three months, subsequently leading to a halt in pig iron imports from Russia. According to current plans, starting from January 1, 2026, imports of pig iron from Russia will be completely banned, unless changes are made to the existing regulations.

In addition to pig iron, the total volume of mineral and metal imports from Russia to the EU in January 2025 has also significantly increased, reaching 809.15 thousand tons. This figure has risen by 89.3% compared to January 2024, and is 2.7 times higher than the previous month. The value of these imports amounted to 323.74 million euros. Among other products, the imports of semi-finished steel products have also increased by 50.8% year-on-year and 16.5% month-on-month, reaching 283.98 thousand tons. Belgium and Italy are identified as the main importers of these products.

In contrast, sponge iron imports from Russia in January 2025 have increased by 3.5% compared to the previous month, but have decreased by 73.1% compared to last year, reaching 50.4 thousand tons. Scrap imports have also decreased significantly compared to both the previous month and the previous year, reaching 200 thousand tons. During this period, iron ore and ferroalloys from Russia have not been supplied to the EU market.