Iron ore pellet producer Ferrexpo, whose quarries are located in Ukraine’s Poltava region, is trying to export part of its production through Ukraine’s western land border, the company tells Kallanish.

Late last week the firm declared force majeure on seaborne shipments after export activity at the port of Pivdenny in southwestern Ukraine, where it has a berth for its shipping, was temporarily suspended at the request of authorities (see Kallanish passim).

Ferrexpo exports its product by train to seaports. However, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the operations of Ukrainian rail operator Ukrzaliznytsia were disrupted, and the ports stopped processing export cargoes.

“We are shipping some products to Ukraine's western border to customers in Europe,” the firm says. “The situation in Ukraine remains complex and volatile, and the capacity of the railway tracks in this direction remains unclear.”

Ferrexpo says it cannot estimate the volume of product that can be exported and delivered to European customers.

The company has also postponed the publication of its annual report, which was scheduled for 16 March.

"This decision was made in connection with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which requires significant attention from management and, therefore, affects the normal internal processes for preparing the group's financial results for last year," the producer says.

Ferrexpo decreased product shipments by rail to Europe in January by 8.9% on-year to 953,700 tonnes (see Kallanish passim).

In 2021, Ferrexpo reduced shipments of products by rail by 4.7% to 11.25 million tonnes.

Last year, the company kept its pellet production at the level of 2020 – 11.2mt – due to disruptions in production after modernisation of pellet plants.