A sub-committee of Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development has decided to increase export duty for ferrous scrap from a minimum of €45/mt to €70/mt for 180 days. The ministry announced this decision during a meeting with industry representatives on May 26, Davis Index has learned.
The decree is expected to be prepared soon and will be enforced within 30 days after it is signed by the Prime Minister of Russia, Mikhail Mishustin, and officially published.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation declared that the current export duty has become inefficient as ferrous scrap exports have started increasing again after prices surged in the global market.
Exports of the material from Russia to countries, which are not members of the Eurasian Economic Union, decreased by 86pc to 194,000mt in February-April 2021 but reached 75,400mt in April versus 24,800mt in the previous month. At that time, the ministry had requested an increase in export duty to a minimum of €90/mt for 180 days.
Russian association NSRO Ruslom.com voiced its opposition, noting that with prices at $510/mt cfr Turkey for HMS 1&2 (80:20) the maximum possible duty could not go beyond €49/mt, otherwise, export of the material will stop completely. They also noted that scrap collection dropped by 233,000mt in Northwestern and Far Eastern Federal Districts with the current duty at €45/mt and may fall further due to a higher duty.