London, June 22nd (Argus) -受益于钢铁厂和包芯线生产商的需求旺盛,欧盟一季度钛铁进口量攀升至2024年第四季度以来的最高水平;自俄罗斯货源断供后,欧洲本土生产商抢占了更多市场份额.
Customs data shows that the total import volume of titanium iron in the EU in the first quarter reached 8,431 tons, up 19% year-on-year and 13% month-on-month. Estonia, Poland, Latvia and the United Kingdom accounted for 5,119 tons, accounting for 61% of the total import volume, while the proportion of the four countries in the same period last year was only 51%.
The import volume of titanium iron from outside the EU excluding the United Kingdom was 1,388 tons, an increase from 1,179 tons in the first quarter of 2025, but down hundreds of tons compared to the other quarters of last year. India is the primary outside EU supplier for the EU, supplying 426 tons in the first quarter, doubling compared to the same period last year, but down 38% compared to the fourth quarter of last year.
This import volume is second only to 11,661 tons in the fourth quarter of 2024, when the EU could still import 2,000 to 3,000 tons of titanium iron from Russia in a single quarter.
In the first quarter of this year, the EU completely stopped direct imports of titanium iron from Russia, but some market insiders disclosed that there were still Russian titanium iron flowing into the EU through third countries as an evasion of sanctions. After the EU imposed sanctions on Russian ferroalloys in December 2024, Russian titanium iron exports have completely shifted to Asia, and currently China has absorbed the vast majority of Russian titanium iron exports. The import volume of titanium iron from Russia to the EU in the first quarter reached a historical high of 3,855 tons, compared to only 816 tons in the same period last year, and the previous highest record was 2,507 tons in the fourth quarter of 2025.
The volume of non-sanctioned titanium scrap imported by the EU from Russia in the first quarter decreased sharply to 37 tons, all flowing to Germany. Estonia had no record of Russian titanium scrap imports this period; the average monthly import volume of Russian titanium scrap in Estonia in the first quarter was 601 tons.
The average price of standard-grade European titanium iron in the first quarter was 4.70 to 4.97 US dollars per kilogram, lower than 5.68 to 6.02 US dollars per kilogram in the same period last year. The market trend this quarter was overall upward and volatile, with the opening price of the quarter ranging from 4.30 to 4.60 US dollars per kilogram, and the closing price rising to 4.85 to 5.30 US dollars per kilogram. The initial driving force for the upward trend was the bankruptcy of Austrian trading company LL Resources in January, but its titanium iron subsidiary LLR Ecological Technology stated that its own operations were not affected. Subsequently, the demand for long-term contract steel mills' need, immediate spot and quarterly spot inquiries was hot, coupled with the tightening of titanium scrap supply and rising costs, further pushed up the price of titanium iron, and the upward trend continued into the second quarter.
