Ukraine has little coke left: after the loss of Pokrovsk, imports doubled

Import of coke and semi-coke to Ukraine is growing. In November, purchases doubled compared to last year. Earlier, Ukraine lost Pokrovsk, where a significant part of coking coal was mined.

"Metallurgical enterprises of Ukraine in January — November 2025 increased imports of coke and semi—coke by 3.2% compared to the same period in 2024 — up to 642.8 thousand tons," GMK Center reports with reference to the data of the State Customs Service of Ukraine.

At the same time, in November, the supply of imported coke doubled compared to the last month of autumn last year — up to 85.35 thousand tons. Compared to October, imports increased by a third.

Poland became the main supplier. It accounted for almost 94% of all deliveries this year.

"In the period 2013-2024, the production of coking coal at Ukraine decreased by 74%, and coke production — by almost 85%. Currently, most of the mines and coke chemical enterprises have remained in uncontrolled territories — 64% of the total," the GMK Center writes.

According to his calculations, to maintain production volumes up to 6.5 million tons of steel by converter and open-hearth method and 1.3 million tons of commercial pig iron, Ukraine needs 3.2 million tons of coke per year, of which up to 20% was imported in 2024.

"In 2025, import volumes are likely to grow due to the shutdown of the Pokrovskaya coal group," the newspaper writes.