The Russian government has proposed that scrap exports should only be transacted via a trading exchange which is yet to be established, though it is not fully clear yet how the system will work. As SteelOrbis previously reported, a draft decree detailing the export restrictions will be prepared and the necessary changes in the law will be made by September 1, 2019, while the new system is expected to come into force in 2020. This move aims to keep scrap in the country, where the number of electric arc furnaces coming online is increasing.
Until 2020, Russia will impose a quota system for scrap exports which will be distributed among exporters based on different coefficient factors for each region of Russia. The lowest ratios of 0.6 and 0.5 are set for the Far Eastern and Southern Federal Districts, where there is a shortage of scrap. For the Kaliningrad, Murmansk, Magadan regions, Kamchatka, Krasnoyarsk Territory and Chukotka Autonomous Region, it is proposed to establish a coefficient of 1, a coefficient of -1.2 for the Sakhalin region, of -1.5 for the Arkhangelsk region, -0.8 for other areas in the North-West Federal District and a coefficient of -0.75 for other regions of the Russian Federation.
One scrap trader from St. Petersburg told SteelOrbis that they are selling scrap as usual and that it is not clear yet when the quotas will be enforced.
During the January-May period of this year, Turkey imported 803,692 mt of scrap from Russia, falling by 22.42 percent compared to the same period of the previous year.