The Russian government approved an increase of export duty from its current minimum of €5/mt to €45/mt for ferrous scrap for 180 days Davis Index has learned.
The Prime Minister of Russia, Mikhail Mishustin, signed decree No. 2364 on December 30, 2020, according to which, ferrous scrap exporters would be charged a duty of 5pc, but no lower than €45/mt. The document was officially published and comes into force in 30 days, raising the minimum level of duty by nine times.
Russian steelmakers believe that higher export duty will redirect 50pc of ferrous scrap meant for export to the local market and enable EAF-based mills to raise capacity utilization rates, and keep employment during the pandemic.
Turkey is the main buyer of Russian scrap and imported 2mn mt or 10pc of its total material from Russia in January-November 2020, according to Davis Index data.