Ukrainian metallurgists insist on the introduction of export duties on scrap metal

General Director of Metinvest Group Yuri Ryzhenkov, General Director of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih PJSC Paramzhit Kalon and General Director of Electrostal LLC Matvey Lam sent a letter to the Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk urging duty on scrap in the amount of 20 euros per ton "to normalize the situation with the provision of domestic companies with this raw material."

At the same time, metallurgical companies are in no hurry to increase purchase prices for scrap to competitive with world ones, confident that the Yatsenyuk government will surrender under the pressure of producers and "tilt" scrap exporters by forcing them to sell scrap metal to Ukrainian plants on their terms.

"We earnestly ask you, Arseny Petrovich, to provide further support at the government level to intensify the process of considering and agreeing on effective initiatives to solve this problem, as well as their consolidation at the legislative level," write the CEOs of the country's largest metallurgical companies.

In January-September, Ukrainian exporters of scrap metal increased their exports by 54.3 percent in physical terms compared to the same period. For nine months, more than a million tons of raw materials were exported abroad, mainly to Turkey (94 percent).