As a result of the introduction of a zero quota for the export of ferrous scrap from January 1 of this year, the scrap harvesting industry is losing its potential, reducing the procurement of raw materials and is forced to cut workers, said the chairman of the Ukrainian Association of Secondary Metals (UAVtormet). Vladimir Bubley at a press conference at the press center of the Interfax - Ukraine agency on the topic "Ban on scrap exports: economic consequences for the market and the state" on Tuesday.
According to him, in fact, the ban on the export of scrap without drawing up a balance of consumption and harvesting of this raw material negatively affected the operation of scrap. At the same time, steel production in Ukraine fell: in January-February 2026, compared with the same period in 2025, steel production decreased by 13.3% — from 1,183 million tons to 1,026 million tons.
At the same time, the purchase of ferrous scrap for metallurgical enterprises decreased significantly – by 31.7%, from 257.8 thousand tons to 176 thousand tons. At the same time, the harvest fell by 41.1%, from 313.6 thousand tons to 184.8 thousand tons.
"Previously, scrap exports accounted for 20-25%. It was more comfortable for us to work in the domestic market. And we are working on it now, and we want to work in Ukraine," said Bubley, stressing that the price of scrap in the EU is more attractive and has reached 300-330 euros per ton.
"The state is losing 12 million euros a month due to the export ban. Loses 200 million UAH of taxes. At the same time, metallurgists are provided with scrap by 112%," the head of UAVtormet cited his data.
According to his estimates, Ukraine will produce 7.4 million tons of steel in 2026, which will require 1.5 million tons of scrap — the industry can provide up to 2 million tons of scrap.
Sergey Vovk, CEO of Ukrmet — Invest LLC, stated that the scrap that the companies harvest is not bought by metallurgical plants, and the scrap stock in his company has reached 13 thousand tons at the moment. "Export is the only way for the industry to survive," the CEO believes.
Vladislav Kleschinsky, CEO of the Ukrmet Group of Companies, added that the ban was imposed due to an alleged shortage of scrap.
"But there is no shortage. Steel plants buy 30-50% at most. So it's impossible to call it a deficit. Currently, the scrap market in Ukraine is a market of metallurgical enterprises that dictate prices. We have already reduced 50% of our staff, 35 divisions are operating at 20% of their capacity, and we have closed the entire export infrastructure," the CEO said.
Nikolay Klimovich, Director of Mirten LLC, clarified that in 2022-2026 the scrap market would be in surplus, and scrap supplies for export were an opportunity to realize it.
According to experts, after the government ban on scrap exports, the procurement industry is in a "severe recession" with a tendency to further reduce supplies.
Earlier, Bubley stated that the ban
