Ferexpo, which controls the Poltava and Yeristovsky GOKs in Ukraine, said on February 25 that it had sent force majeure notices to some customers as a result of the interruption of logistics following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“Export activity in the port of Yuzhny, located in the south-west of Ukraine, where the group’s berth is located for shipping pellets to customers, was temporarily suspended after notification to the port authorities. As a result, the group's marketing department has issued force majeure notices to some customers who were due to receive the group's products on an ocean-going vessel in the near future,” the company said in a statement.
According to the press service, Ferrexpo's iron ore mining and processing facilities in central Ukraine continue to operate. The company has the resources to store iron ore pellets at the mine in case Ukraine's logistics networks continue to experience disruptions, the statement said.
Ferrexpo has limited rail capacity to transport pellets to Europe across the Ukrainian border. The company's customers in Central and Eastern Europe, who usually receive shipments by rail and barge, have not yet received force majeure notices.
In 2021, Ferrexpo produced 11.2 million tons of pellets, mainly blast furnace acid, for steel mills in Austria, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Turkey, Vietnam and the United States.
Ferrexpo is the third largest pellet exporter in the world after Vale and LKAB. The company said on February 24 that it is closely monitoring developments in Ukraine and will prioritize the safety of its workforce while the group's mining and processing operations continue to operate.
Other suppliers of iron ore pellets - Ukrainian GOKs Metinvest and Russian quarries of Metalloinvest also continue to deliver to the markets of Central and Eastern Europe.
