Russian recyclers to be hit by Crimea crisis

Russia – Recent events in Ukraine – and on the Crimea peninsula in particular – will impact Russia’s scrap metal exports, according to Victor Kovshevny, managing director of metal markets research body Rusmet. ‘Due to the crisis, transit through Ukrainian ports will obviously fall by several times while you may expect an increased loss of cargo,’ he tells Recycling International.

The political and social instability in Ukraine is proving increasingly damaging to the economies of both Russia and the broader Black Sea region. Although no more than 7% of Russia’s scrap metal exports go through Ukrainian ports, Russian recyclers and traders will surely feel some pain, Kovshevny believes.

‘Scrap exports to Ukraine will fall by two of three times due to the drop in paying capacity and shipment reliability,’ he says. ‘Supplies of Russian scrap to the global market will decrease.’ Russia does not import scrap from Ukraine, he adds.

The world’s biggest steel scrap importer Turkey is also increasingly concerned about the situation, Recycling International has been told. ‘Since we have a big business flow with Ukraine and Russia, the unrest in Crimea is worrying us for sure,’ reports Selim Argun of the Istanbul-based Metkim sales company which annually imports around 1.4 million tonnes of steel scrap into Turkey.

Recycling International will run an in-depth report on the latest developments in Russia’s scrap metals industries in its April issue.