Industry participants consider the level of 15.5 thousand rubles per ton to be critical and warn about the risks of closing 30% of scrap-harvesting enterprises. The market is affected by falling domestic demand from metallurgists and current restrictions on scrap exports.
Illustrative photo: "Riverbed.com".
According to the Rusmet rating agency, referred to by Kommersant, in the week to June 22, quotations decreased by 3.12% to 15.55 thousand rubles per ton on FCA terms (the seller delivers the goods to the carrier designated by the buyer) without VAT and railway fare. The last time prices were at the current level was in early July 2022.
Scrap is mainly used in the production of steel in electric arc furnaces. Electrostal accounts for about a third of the country's steel production. According to the Chermet Corporation, steel production in the Russian Federation decreased by 4.4% to 6 million tons in May, and by 5.2% to 29.1 million tons in the first five months of 2025.
According to the estimates of the director of the association "Ruslom.
According to Viktor Kovshevny, over the past year, 20-25% of scrap-harvesting enterprises have left the market, and by the end of the year, the share of closed companies may grow to 30%. According to him, enterprises do not have funds to pay salaries and they are forced to redesign their activities. The situation with the closure of scrap-harvesting facilities is most acute in export-oriented federal districts, Viktor Kovshevny points out.
In the North-West and the Far East, he continues, about 70% of capacities have been closed, Siberia is next in line, and by the end of the year difficulties will affect the center of the Russian Federation. A quota of 1.5 million tons is in effect for the export of ferrous scrap from the Russian Federation outside the EAEU this year. Within the quota, supplies are subject to a duty of 5%, but not less than €15 per ton, over the quota — 5% and not less than €290 per ton.
According to "Channel.
According to the results of 2025, scrap consumption in Russia may decrease to 12.5 million tons. This is almost a third less than in 2024.
Illustrative photo: OMK EcoMetall.
The current price level is critical for the industry, experts say.
"The profitability of the scrap harvesting business is under threat, especially for companies that have not diversified their activities. Another 20-30% of players may leave the market, primarily small and medium-sized producers who cannot withstand competition and falling margins. The industry will begin to consolidate," says Dmitry Orekhov, Managing Director of the NKR rating agency.According to the analyst, even for large metallurgical companies, the profitability of scrap harvesting is declining due to falling prices and demand, as well as
