In January-April of this year, Ukrainian enterprises increased exports of ferrous scrap by 45.5% compared to the same period last year, to 127,209 thousand tons from 87,414 thousand tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (GMS) on Tuesday, 46,321 thousand tons were exported in April (an increase of 16.1% compared to March), 39,908 thousand tons in March (an increase of 57.8% compared to February), 25,284 thousand tons of scrap in February (an increase of 61% compared to January), in January – 15,696 thousand tons.
In monetary terms, scrap metal exports in January-April increased by 39.4% to $39.247 million from $28.155 million.
During this period, scrap metal exports were formally carried out mainly to Poland (86.96% of shipments in monetary terms), Greece (6.60%) and Germany (3.09%).
In the first four months of the year, Ukraine imported 33 tons of scrap metal worth $12,000 from Poland (54.55%), the Seychelles (36.36%) and the British Virgin Islands (9.09%).
As reported with reference to the data of the BP Committee for Economic Development, last year almost 300 thousand tons of ferrous scrap with zero duty were exported from Ukraine to the EU. The lion's share of these exports in transit through Constanta and other ports went to Turkey and other countries, avoiding paying the duty of EUR180 per ton – this is about 2 billion UAH of lost revenue to the state budget. Dmitry Kisilevsky, Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Development, stressed that if this scrap went to Ukrainian factories, it would create more added value in production, more taxes, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine could receive more funds to finance Ukraine's defense needs.
"Therefore, taking this into account, Ukraine should start consultations with European partners regarding their ability to track the end user of raw materials, as well as regarding other more applied measures to ensure that these scarce raw materials remain and are processed in the country ( Ukraine should be as firm as possible in defending its own national interests," the parliamentarian concluded.
In addition, it was reported that due to a sharp increase in the export of strategic raw materials from Ukraine, the Ministry of Economy initiated the introduction of a licensing regime and quotas for scrap metal exports with the establishment of a zero quota. A public discussion of the draft relevant resolution is currently underway. It is expected that its implementation will contribute to the smooth operation of the metallurgical and foundry industries of Ukraine, as well as to the stabilization of the situation with ensuring the demand for scrap metal in the domestic market of Ukraine.
In 2024, Ukrainian scrap harvesters increased exports of ferrous scrap by 60.7% compared to 2023, to 293,190 thousand tons.
