Poland helps Russia's friends to export scrap from Ukraine

Scrap exports from Ukraine are growing. This year — almost half. Most of them go through Poland and end up in countries that have maintained cooperation with Russia and can produce even cheaper steel, which affects Ukraine's competitiveness.

Exports of ferrous scrap from Ukraine increased by more than 45% in 11 months and reached 380 thousand tons. This is reported by GMK Center with reference to the State Customs Service of Ukraine.

The main export destination was Poland, which accounted for 68.5% of all scrap exports.

"Ukraine has been trying for many years to contain the outflow of scrap metal abroad to provide domestic metallurgy with raw materials. Back in 2015, the state began to strengthen export regulation by introducing a duty of € 10/ton, which gradually increased to € 180/ton in 2021. This decision was a reaction to a sharp jump in export volumes, when in the first half of 2021 the sale of scrap abroad increased 14 times," writes GMK Center.

However, after 2022, the export flow resumed growth.

"This is primarily due to the possibility of transit of Ukrainian scrap through the countries The EU without paying the duty, first of all Poland, from where raw materials are actively re-exported to Turkey. At the same time, high world prices make the sale of scrap abroad financially attractive even with additional costs," continues GMK Center.

They noted that in Ukraine itself, scrap harvesting is declining. If it was 4-5 million tons before 2022, now it is 1.2−1.5 million tons.

"This increases the risks for domestic metallurgical plants, which are struggling for access to scarce raw materials," the GMK Center noted.

As EADaily reported, Ukrainian metallurgists are promoting a complete ban on scrap exports. They motivate this by the fact that he goes to Russia-friendly Turkey and India, which are competitors of Ukraine. And the use of Ukrainian scrap allows companies from these countries to make their metallurgical products even more competitive, while Ukrainian manufacturers themselves are sorely lacking scrap and the cost of production is growing.