Why will the innovations have a serious impact on scrap collection in the country? Who will benefit and who will lose? These and other questions Prometall media asked Victor Kovshevny, Director of the National Recycling Association RUSLOM.COM.

Victor, over the past few months, many platforms have been discussing the issue of transitioning to cashless payment for scrap. What has this discussion revealed? How timely is this measure?

Active discussion has been going on for a long time. The discussion took place on expert platforms of organisations and at industry conferences. At INNOPROM exhibition in this summer, a whole section was dedicated to this topic.

The members of our Association have been very active everywhere. Both during the preparation to adopt the new regulations and now, after they have been signed by the President of Russia, we are consulting both the scrap processing industry and banks in order to adapt the infrastructure as soon as possible and to switch to cashless payments for scrap to individuals.

It is recommended to the scrap collectors to carry out an audit of their activities to ensure that they meet the criteria of due diligence and that there are no indications of dubious transactions, as required by the Central Bank. In addition, one or more banking solutions should be selected for cashless transfers to citizens for scrap.

If there are issues in opening a bank account and there is negative information about the company, it will be necessary to go through the whitening stage. In this case, both servicing banks and specialised consulting firms can provide assistance, and members of the Association can contact the Directorate for advice. At present, there are many questions about the legal status of scrap collectors, the documentation of transactions with individuals, and the limits of transactions in terms of sums and volumes of scrap.

Are there any risks in transition to cashless payments to individuals for scrap?

The main risks are market inertia and a lack of legal knowledge of both scrap collectors and individuals. As a result, there are many myths surrounding the transition to cashless payments. In fact, this measure does not change anything for individuals, does not reduce their rights to deliver scrap and get paid. However, it will make economically unviable the activity of shadow scrap collectors, who have been engaged in illegal cash withdrawal.

At the same time, the tax risk for legal operators will be minimised, as an individual will have no possibility to deny a fact of a scrap deal due to the bank’s confirmation of a cashless transaction. At present, such denials by individuals result in situations when expenses for purchasing scrap metal are not recognised as target ones by the tax authorities, and additional profit taxes are charged. There is a risk of additional tax charges and administrative fines if companies continue to pay in cash in violation of the scrap regulations.

The Association has spoken a lot about the fact that, in parallel with the transition to cashless payments, it would be expedient for the development of the industry to abolish personal income tax for those who deliver scrap. Has any progress been made in this direction?

Progress has been made in the sense that the need to reform the income tax on individuals’ scrap metal revenues has been confirmed at the level of the government, the State Duma and the ministries. At the same time, different agencies have different views on the mechanism of personal income tax reform. There are two main approaches.

Some agencies support complete abolition, while others recommend considering a system of personal income tax where a scrap collector becomes an agent of an individual for tax payment and filing. The Ministry of Natural Resources proposes to abolish income tax on all secondary resources, not just metal. But the decision is still being delayed.

Is there a risk that, under the new conditions, scrap collectors will try to go into the shadows and pass off scrap received from individuals as scrap received from legal entities?

If a company splits transactions or uses “technical” companies to reclassify scrap from individuals as corporate scrap, this will quickly lead to blocking of accounts, as the Central Bank’s “know your customer” system and the servicing bank will see non-transparent transactions. The cashless payments law is designed to bring the market out of the shadows and level the playing field. Schemes and attempts at abuse can only be short term.

Will the “whitening” of the industry have positive long-term effects?

I believe it will. Working “in the white” always means an increase in the investment attractiveness of any industry and the possibility of attracting new resources, including credit resources. As long as hundreds of billions of roubles (and this is the scale of figures) from scrap are in the grey zone, this is impossible. One trillion roubles that are now officially circulating in the industry is a lot of money, but what if the amount increases by one and a half times or more as a result of the transition to more transparent systems? The main thing is to get through the difficult period of change and live up to these bright prospects.

There will be completely new opportunities that will expand the activities of scrap collectors. For example, we are currently working with lead plants on a project to involve all members of our Association in a national system of collecting used lead batteries. The factories need materials and are willing to finance the purchase of batteries or create other mechanisms to involve companies that have never been involved in this type of activity before. Thousands of collection yards that did not exist before should appear.

I am sure that other companies, especially producers of other non-ferrous metals, will follow this example to increase the collection of aluminium or copper scrap. I am sure that banks will also be interested in becoming partners in such projects. After all, this is about building circular economy, not in words but in deeds.

The post Russia’s scrap industry in anticipation of cashless payments appeared first on Ferrous and non-ferrous scrap & wastes processors and vehicle recyclers.

It is estimated that, as in previous years, the event will bring together over 1,000 market leaders in scrap and waste management, metallurgy, and related industries from around the world. Participants include representatives of the authorities, including the State Duma of the Russian Federation, the Government of Moscow, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Federal Antimonopoly Service, the Federal Taxation Service, as well as representatives of Russian and international organisations.

The business programme started with the analytical session “Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Scrap Market in Russia and Worldwide” moderated by Denis Gorshkov, the columnist and news presenter of RBC-TV. The event included a discussion on a number of topics, including:

• Global ferrous scrap market;
• Analysis of volume and price indicators of ferrous and non-ferrous scrap market for the period;
• How to sell scrap and waste globally and increase the sustainability of business in the face of uncertainty;
• Ferrous and non-ferrous scrap market forecast for the period 2023-2030;
• New sales and purchase channels for ferrous scrap metals;
• Trends in steel, copper, and other scrap markets;
• Challenges and opportunities: impact of sanctions, reorientation of sales markets, information and technological import substitution, environmental trends;
• Non-obvious relationship between price indicators and availability of raw materials (scrap);
• Is there a price disparity in the market as the result of scrap export restrictions?

Alexander Ostrovsky, Head of Raw Materials Department at MetalIndex, opened the analytical session. He spoke about the main trends in the international scrap market, methods of forecasting scrap prices and answered questions from the audience. According to the speakers’ estimations, the global steel production, which fell to 1,832 million tonnes in 2022, will grow by 13% to 2,100 million tonnes in 2030. This trend should contribute to an increase in scrap consumption.

Another noteworthy forecast was the increasing share of electric steel in China. According to Alexander Ostrovsky, by 2025 it should amount to 15-20% of total steel production in the country. Thus, China is expected to see a decline in iron ore consumption and an increase in scrap consumption.

Andrey Korablin, founder of Smartscrap, continued the session. The speaker talked about the tools which help to sell scrap and waste globally and increase the sustainability of businesses in an uncertain environment.

In addition, the speaker highlighted the following industry challenges:

• Restriction of scrap metal exports;
• Reduced demand for steelmakers’ end-products, which reduces the need for scrap;
• Risks of non-payment;
• Constantly changing rules of the game in the market.

The co-speakers, Alexey Chizhikov, Head of Analytical and Research in Metallurgy and Raw Materials, Rusmet Rating Agency, and Bella Koshman, Senior Analyst, Rusmet Rating Agency told the audience about changes in the structure of scrap consumption by metallurgical plants and its competition with HBI.

One of the speakers of the analytical session was Victor Kovshevny, Director of the National Recycling Association RUSLOM.COM, who spoke about the main trends of the Russian scrap market and, in particular, about the structure of the available scrap fund, the cost of scrap procurement for different types of scrap, the role of individuals in sorting and returning scrap to recycling.

The speaker pointed out that the share of easily accessible scrap had decreased to 26%. At the same time, the cost of such scrap is significantly lower (15,910 roubles per 1 tonne) than that of moderately accessible (19,538 roubles per 1 tonne) and hard-to-reach scrap (21,896 roubles per 1 tonne).

An interesting feature is that in practice the price of scrap metal is determined by the plant, not by the scrap producer.

“This is the state of affairs not only in Russia, but all over the world – scrap is bought but not sold,” said Viktor Kovshevny.

According to the data presented by the speaker, in 2022 the generation of old scrap was 53.9 million tonnes and the collection was 14 million tonnes. At the same time the collection of old scrap in 2021 was 21 million tonnes with approximately the same amount of scrap generated. Uncollected scrap goes to landfills or is left in un-demolished buildings or machinery.

The next speaker was Kirill Raichenko, Head of Marketplace Vtorion. He said that when selling 2 thousand tonnes of scrap per year using the classic sales method, a scrap collector spends 430 thousand roubles more than when he uses a specialised digital service.

It is noteworthy that more than 200 supplies have been made through the Vtorion platform this year; sales volumes of the site increased by 58%.

Kirill Dozmarov, lawyer, Partner, and Head of the Antimonopoly Practice Group at Kulik & Partners Law.Economics and Tatiana Basova, Senior Economist and Block Leader at Kulik & Partners Law.Economics, spoke on the issues and consequences of scrap industry regulation.

The speakers discussed the impact that regulation of the scrap industry has on the economy and society as a whole, exchanged opinions on the issues associated with a lack of transparency and non-competitiveness in the industry and the consequences of inappropriate regulation, such as rising metal prices.

As the speakers pointed out, an important element for the Federal Antimonopoly Service in assessing a company is its pricing policy, and sales and purchase policy. That is why it is crucial to minimise risks in advance and form a reasoned proving position in the dialogue with the relevant authorities. It is important for business to speak to the government in a language it understands.

The business programme of the day was continued by the round table “Market Analysis of Precious and Rare Earth Metals and Electronic Scrap. Recycling of Lead Batteries, Lithium Batteries, and Other Power Sources”, organised by the National Recycling Association RUSLOM.COM in partnership with the National University of Science and Technology MISiS, Solution Law Office, and LiBA (Switzerland).

The round table was moderated by RBC-TV columnist and news presenter Denis Gorshkov, and co-moderated by Marina Uglovskaya, Executive Director of the Association RUSLOM.COM.

Participants were presented with an analysis of price and volume indicators of the precious metals scrap and waste market in Russia; a forecast considering the restrictions imposed on the domestic and foreign markets; trends in legislation in the field of precious metals scrap management; and international trends in the recycling of waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).

Other important topics of the round table were:

• Sources of rare-earth metals formation. Recovery of precious rare-earth metals from secondary raw materials, catalysts, and electronics. MISiS Institute technologies.
• Challenges in operation and recycling of lithium, lead, and other types of batteries and energy sources. European experience in infrastructure and standards development.
• Materials of the future in developed countries: rare-earth metals and vanadium steels.

Nikolai Dorogov, Doctor of Economics, Professor, Deputy Director of the Higher School of Tariff Regulation at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics spoke about how the use of indices could help organisations make informed and efficient decisions in different areas of activity. In his presentation the speaker emphasised that the development of indices and their use is an important step towards more efficient and transparent management of business and public resources.

Maxim Mikhailov, Commercial Director of NPO AURUS LLC, presented his report on the current state of the market for electronic scrap and waste of precious metals in Russia. The speaker drew attention to the price and volume indicators of the market and gave a forecast based on the restrictions imposed on the domestic and foreign markets.

The speaker emphasises that, to date, most companies involved in e-waste recycling operated with a low content of useful fractions, which affects the efficiency of printed circuit boards collection and recycling. Assessing the efficiency of collecting and recycling PCBs with low useful fractions is one of the most important challenges in the e-waste market. Currently, there are several approaches to address it, such as the use of special technologies.

The programme continued with Anna Stern, Legal Director of Euromet LLC and Member of the Committee on Scrap and Waste of Precious Metals (SWPM) Management at the Association RUSLOM.COM, who presented the main trends in legislation on scrap of precious metals management.

According to the speaker, the first important trend is the prohibition of export of scrap of precious metals outside the Russian Federation for a period of 1 year 8 months. This means that companies involved in this field will have to concentrate on the domestic market.

The second trend is the regulation of the internal market from January 9, 2023. In order to facilitate the transport of SWPM, the relevant changes have been made. Moreover, the concept of “SWPM handling (processing)” has been changed with effect from 1 March 2024. These changes will lead to improvements in the efficiency of the companies involved in the handling of SWPM.

Also in the near future, there are plans to change the licence to purchase SWPM and to change the term “SWPM”.

Viktor Haefeli, owner of LiBaService24 GmbH, presented on the topic “From Waste to Profit: Current Trends in WEEE and Battery Recycling”.

The speaker began his report with an overview of the situation in the Russian Federation and talked about the state of WEEE production in dynamics. The expert also discussed with the round table participants the current situation and trends in battery recycling, the opportunities and risks of electric vehicles.

In addition, the speaker drew attention to the European experience and showed the whole production and economic chain of the extraction of minerals, chemical elements, production and recycling of batteries. He stressed out the importance of recycling and spoke about current trends in this field.

The third block of the day’s business programme included a conference “Scrap of Stainless and Special Steels”.

Conference participants discussed the global and Russian stainless-steel markets, export-import issues of stainless and special steels in Russia, production and consumption, market forecasts in Russia, and other topical issues.

The conference was opened by Victor Tarnavskiy, Head of the Information and Analysis Centre of the Metal Supply and Sales Magazine.

The speaker revealed that 55.26 million tonnes of stainless steel had been smelted globally in 2022, down by 5.2% from a year earlier. However, according to the forecast of MEPS consulting company, this year’s smelting should increase to 60 million tonnes. Meanwhile, growth on this scale looks unlikely, as China’s stainless-steel production started to increase again in 2022 and the industry hit a record high in February 2023. However, demand for stainless steel in China is not as high as desired. In this connection, Tsingshan Group and Jiangsu Delong have built two modern plants in Indonesia with a combined capacity of 6 million tonnes per year, even though stainless-steel production in Indonesia has declined slightly since reaching a peak in 2021.

According to the International Nickel Study Group (INSG), the global nickel market is in a state of slight oversupply: 108.9 thousand tonnes in 2022 and about 170 thousand tonnes in 2023; nickel production is growing at a very high rate, with a projected 11.5% growth in 2023. At the same time, production of NPI (nickel pigment) and nickel sulphate is growing the fastest, while refined metal production lags behind.

Anastasia Nesterova, Senior Analyst at Rusmet Rating Agency gave a presentation on “Stainless Steel. Russian Foreign Trade Statistics 2013-2022”.

During her speech, she shared some interesting data. Thus, according to her, turnover of stainless steel in 2022 was 399.81 thousand tonnes, with imports amounting to 98% and exports 2%. Semi-finished products were imported in the amount of 0.82 thousand tonnes, worth $3,939,000. At the same time, exports amounted to 0.26 thousand tonnes, worth $425,000.

Long steel products were imported in the amount of 27.73 thousand tonnes, worth $125,646,000. However, exports amounted to only 0.58 thousand tonnes, worth $5,900,000. Pipe products were imported in the amount of 30.44 thousand tonnes worth $195,301,000. Exports, on the other hand, amounted to 5.96 thousand tonnes, worth $168,280,000.

In volume terms, the decline was 25%, while in value terms imports decreased by 5%, as a number of items in the previous year could see an increase in the customs value of imports.

Victor Kovshevny, Director of the National Recycling Association RUSLOM.COM, continued the conference. The speaker analysed the recent decline in scrap collection volumes. He pointed out that this situation was due to the difficulties businesses face in operating under multiple restrictions and the lack of necessary support.

Thus, according to the speaker, by 2025 the scrap collection will decrease relative to 2021 if the personal income tax on scrap is not abolished, and sanctions and restrictions on scrap exports are remain in place.

The day ended with a meeting of the Committee on the Self-Regulated Organisation Members’ Rights Protection and Legal Risks of the Association RUSLOM.COM, chaired by Lev Liokumovich (Vtorchermet NLMK LLC).

About the Association

 The National Recycling Association RUSLOM.COM is the only official industry association of scrap processors in Russia with the national self-regulatory organisation status. The Association members are more than 300 companies from among the procurement divisions of metallurgical plants, independent processors, exporters and traders, which are leaders of the market and government programmes. Members of the National Association RUSLOM.COM own 100% of the shredding capacity in Russia and 75% of the market in terms of consumption of steel scrap in Russia.

 The Association’s mission is to ensure the resource and environmental security of Russia by means of returning recoverable materials to the economic turnover.
 
The Association’s goal is to create a high-tech metal recycling industry in Russia.

Press-service of the National Recycling Association RUSLOM.COM
Tel.              +7 (499) 490-49-28
Mob. tel.      +7 (903) 363-5393
Email           a.kondratiev@ruslom.com

The post The 18th International Forum Scrap of Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Metals and the MIR-Expo 2023 exhibition opened in Moscow appeared first on Ferrous and non-ferrous scrap & wastes processors and vehicle recyclers.

The event’s Strategic Partners are the National Recycling Association RUSLOM.COM, ROSCONGRESS, the National University of Science and Technology (MISiS), and the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.

The event will be attended by the Federal Antimonopoly Service, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Economic Development, the State Duma, licensing authorities of Russian regions, as well as delegations from India, China, Iran, and Turkey.

MIR-Expo will be held in a unique non-stop networking format. This year a new participant package – Exhibitor – is introduced. More than 1,000 delegates, who are leaders in the scrap and metal markets, are expected to attend.

The business programme includes:

• Conference on production growth and optimisation of resource supply of stainless-steel enterprises. The Partner is Zlatoust Plant.
• Conference on logistics of metals and metallurgical raw materials. Partner: ROSCONGRESS Fuel Card.
• Import substitution of information and technology.
• Coal conference.
• Session on metallurgical plants’ raw material supply.
• Round table on scrap export.
• Conference on rare-earth and precious metals and scrap, e-waste.
• Workshop on control and supervision of the scrap market.
• Presentations, scientific reports, pitch sessions etc.

The International Forum Scrap of Ferrous and Non-ferrous Metals, taking place for the 18th time, will traditionally become the central event.

The Forum is a high-status business platform for scrap professionals from Russia and the world, which allows them to share best practices, address industry issues, and obtain the most up-to-date analytics and strategic information on the ferrous, non-ferrous, precious metal scrap, secondary raw materials, and environmental matters.

The annual generation of scrap in Russia is 49 million tonnes, but only less than 30 million tonnes are collected. It is crucial to stimulate not only the collection of scrap, but also the quality of its recycling.

The Eurasian Economic Union is a new and a fast-growing recycling market that generates 1.5 million tonnes of e-waste per year; this volume can be estimated at 400 million euros. At the same time, it is necessary to expand markets, increase consumption, and upgrade capacities.

The recycling of end-of-life vehicles is on the list of priority measures aimed to develop scrap industry in Russia. There are more than 60 million car owners in our country; additionally, numerous companies have their own vehicle fleets. 2 million tonnes of ferrous scrap could be potentially collected from vehicle recycling per year, followed by batteries, plastics, and rubber. This is a significant source of secondary raw materials of high value, which can be estimated at more than 10 billion euros per year. In addition, it is necessary to encourage the collection of hard-to-recover scrap through programmes for cleaning water areas, buildings dismantling, and collecting scrap in difficult climatic zones.

To achieve these goals, there is a need for a transparent business environment, equal competitive conditions, attractive investment climate for developing the technology base and infrastructure, and balanced state regulation. These pressing issues, as well as many others, will be discussed on the margins of the Exhibition and the Forum.

Please visit the official web-site of the event for terms and conditions.

Web-site: www.mir-expo.com

Phone: +7(495)980-06-08; +7(964)799-51-18

E-mail: info@mir-expo.com; lom@rusmet.ru

The post On 5-7 April 2023, the 18th International Forum Scrap of Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Metals and the Moscow International Recycling Expo (MIR-Expo) will be held in the World Trade Centre in Moscow appeared first on Ferrous and non-ferrous scrap & wastes processors and vehicle recyclers.

As part of the business mission, the delegation had an extremely saturated business programme, which started with the Indian-Russian conference Commercial and Industrial Dialogue and Business Cooperation in Delhi on May 30th. The event was attended by more than 70 representatives of the business community and business associations from both Russiа and Indiа, as well as Russian state representatives, including: the Trade Representation of the Russian Federation in India, the Embassy of the Russian Federation in India, the National Recycling Association RUSLOM.COM, and the Material Recycling Association of India (MRAI). The leading Russian banks operating in India, such as Gazprombank, Sberbank India, Moscow Credit Bank, numerous entrepreneurs of Indian and Russian metallurgical and scrap recycling industries also took part in the event.

During the conference, the participants were presented with analytical information and forecasts in the fields of trade and economy; discussed ways to develop business partnerships, including the ones in the field of metals and metallurgical raw materials, prospects for the implementation of investment projects and the development of export-import relations. In addition, the leading market players were able to exchange experience in the field of scrap and waste recycling technologies, equipment for electrometallurgy, production of metal products and semi-finished products.

As the members of both delegations noted, this business event had become the largest one in India since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, aimed at establishing and strengthening Russian-Indian foreign economic relations.

On the next day, May 31, the Russian delegation visited three plants of the leading Indian manufacturer of equipment for scrap processing and recycling Advance Hydrau-Tech, which has been operating for over 40 years. During its years of activity, Advance Hydrau-Tech has developed and supplied custom-sized and customised equipment on 6 continents. Advance Hydrau-Tech expressed interest in developing business relations with Russia and the possibility of joining the Association RUSLOM.COM.

During the visit to the enterprise, the company’s representatives presented and demonstrated in operation a line of equipment which is of great demand in more than 70 countries around the world. The delegation members were able to attest the quality of press-shears, briquetting presses, sorting and packaging lines on the site.

The business tour continued on June 1 with a visit to the office and production facilities of Electrotherm, one of India’s largest manufacturers of induction melting furnaces used for steel production.

The company was founded in 1983 and supplied more than 4,000 furnaces to 56 countries throughout the world. The production facilities and modern office complex with a full-fledged research and development centre of Electrotherm are located in Ahmedabad, India. Today, the company’s contribution to the steel industry, in terms of nominal power, is about 5150 MW. The company is active all over the world, implementing turnkey major projects in the field of metallurgy. In particular, the company demonstrated to the members of the Russian delegation one of the recent large-scale projects implemented in Iran.

Electrotherm has plans to develop cooperation with Russia. The Russian Rusmet Rating Agency signed an agreement with Electrotherm to represent its interests in Russia.

The next day’s business programme was dedicated to visiting a unique place, the shipbreaking region of Alang. The Alang Ship Breaking Yard is the world’s largest. According to experts, about half of all ships sent for recycling around the world are processed in Alang. More than 20 thousand people are constantly working on the facility. It is important that shipbreaking companies in Alang, unlike their main competitors around the world, adhere to high standards of safety and labour protection. Thus, corporate clients who care about their reputation often choose companies located in the area as their business partners.

The Russian delegation visited the sites of three leading Indian companies in this business: the Leela Group of Companies, Baijnath Melaram, and Diamond Group.

Alang, being an impressive place for its scale, unique natural conditions (its ability to ‘park’ huge ships on the shore due the natural tide force throughout the Alang region) and technology, aroused genuine interest of the Association’s delegation. The participants got an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the technological, infrastructural and financial features of the capital-intensive shipbreaking business on a global scale.

As a result of the visit, Russian entrepreneurs are considering the possibility of sending ships for processing to the Alang Yard. The Indian side also expressed interest in purchasing copper and aluminium scrap, which may also become part of the cooperation agenda between the Russian and Indian entrepreneurs.

The Gujarat Maritime Board officials, who are in charge of the Alang region, showed Russian businessmen a municipal training centre for workers, where they receive training and safety instructions, and also pass mandatory exams to be allowed to work at the shipbreaking yards of Alang.

At the end of the day, Russian entrepreneurs also visited the waste incineration plant in Alang, which is run by the Gujarat Maritime Board.

The saturated business tour programme continued on June 3 in Mumbai. The Association’s delegation, together with the Material Recycling Association of India, organised a reception during the signing of the agreement between the two associations, RUSLOM.COM and MRAI. The event was aimed to provide networking opportunities for the Russian and Indian delegations. It attracted a wide professional audience, including Sergey Nechuneev, Head of the Mubmai branch of the Trade Representation of the Russian Federation in India, and Timur Vekilov, Head of the Representative Office of the Russian Export Centre JSC in India.

MRAI was founded in 2011 as the Metal Recycling Association of India. As a result of the rapid development, this metallurgical industry organisation has turned into a full-fledged multi-industry recycling association with the support of the government of the country, which instructed it to address recycling issues, not limited to the metallurgical sector. Currently, MRAI has more than 1,200 members engaged in recycling, including metals, plastics, paper, waste and e-waste, tires and rubber, glass, automobiles, construction and demolition, and water treatment.

The signing of a partnership agreement between MRAI and the Association RUSLOM.COM became a significant event of the evening. Thanks to the coordination of actions and cooperation within the framework of this agreement, the associations intend to increase the competitiveness of their member companies, expand the system of interconnections between Russian and Indian enterprises in the domestic and international markets. A promising and much demanded area for businessmen is also the parties’ intention to engage in mutual check of business partners from the metallurgical and scrap industries in Russia and India.

‘The agreement will facilitate establishing new relationships with suppliers, create new production capacities, new ties between Indian, Russian and foreign enterprises, and will provide an opportunity for Indian and Russian companies to enter new markets,’ said Victor Kovshevny, Director of RUSLOM.COM. In his opinion, the signing of the agreement became a landmark event for the development of horizontal and sectoral ties between Russia and India, and will entail the growth of mutual business.

Later, according to the business visit programme, the Russian delegation arrived at the office of MTC Group, an Indian conglomerate engaged in processing, trading, and production of metals, headquartered in Mumbai. The company has been trading all types of metals, including ferrous, non-ferrous, ferroalloys, base metals for over 40 years. Its cumulative annual trade volume is about 2.2 million tonnes. Today, MTC Group has 18 processing sites and 12 offices around the world. The President of the MTC Group is also the President of the Material Recycling Association of India.

The delegation members and the management of the company had an active and fruitful dialogue on the prospects for business cooperation, technologies, equipment, and mutual trade. The president of the company assured the Russian entrepreneurs that his firm was able to address any issue in the Indian metallurgical industry, as well as in the metal scrap processing market.

As a result of the business mission, all Russian and Indian participants enthusiastically welcomed the professional format of the bilateral dialogue. The Russian entrepreneurs noted that in the course of the visit they were able to get acquainted with various aspects of the metallurgical and scrap processing business in various regions of India, as well as establish new useful contacts with specific companies-potential business partners, banks, Russian government agencies in India, whose mission is to support, develop and protect the interests of Russian business.

In the course of a close dialogue, the representatives of the business community and industry associations outlined tangible means of promising and mutually beneficial cooperation and development between the recycling industries of both two countries. The companies agreed to promote professional growth in order to develop more efficient waste disposal processes, produce industrial raw materials from waste in larger volumes and of higher quality.

The National Recycling Association RUSLOM.COM is the only official industry association of scrap processors in Russia with the national self-regulatory organisation status. The Association members are more than 300 companies from among the procurement divisions of metallurgical plants, independent processors, exporters and traders, which are leaders of the market and government programmes. Members of the National Association RUSLOM.COM own 100% of the shredding capacity in Russia and 75% of the market in terms of consumption of steel scrap in Russia.

The Association’s mission is to ensure the resource and environmental security of Russia by means of returning recoverable materials to the economic turnover.

 
The Association’s goal is to create a high-tech metal recycling industry in Russia.
 
Alexey Kondratyev
Director, Public Relations
National Recycling Association RUSLOM.COM
 Address:         Moscow, 2nd Kazachiy lane, 11, p. 1
Tel.                 +7 (499) 490-49-28
Mob. tel.         +7 (903) 363-5393
Email              a.kondratiev@ruslom.com

The post Business mission of RUSLOM.COM to India in May-June 2022 received impressive bilateral support appeared first on Ferrous and non-ferrous scrap & wastes processors and vehicle recyclers.

On May 30, 2022, as part of the business mission of Russian metal recycling industry entrepreneurs to India, organised by the National Recycling Association RUSLOM.COM, the Indian-Russian conference Commercial and Industrial Dialogue and Business Cooperation was held in Delhi. The event was attended by representatives of the Russian state, as well as the business community from both the Russian and Indian sides, including the Trade Representation of the Russian Federation in India, the Embassy of the Russian Federation in India, the National Recycling Association RUSLOM.COM, the Material Recycling Association of India (MRAI), leading Russian banks operating in India, such as Gazprombank, Sberbank India, Moscow Credit Bank, numerous entrepreneurs of the Indian and Russian metallurgical and scrap recycling industries.

Conference participants from both sides unanimously commented that this event became the largest business event in India since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, aimed at establishing and strengthening Russian-Indian foreign economic relations.

‘Today, at the time of dramatic change in the global political and economic situation, the search for new solutions, opportunities in the field of international logistics and payments, the reorientation and expansion of external markets for the national products, the search for new partners in the field of foreign trade in various sectors – from mechanical engineering to waste recycling – is becoming extremely relevant for our countries,’ said Victor Kovshevny, Director of the National Recycling Association RUSLOM.COM.

The main topics of the conference were:

• analytical information and forecasts in the fields of trade and economy, announcement of Indian and Russian companies present at the event;
• development of business partnerships, primarily in the field of metals and metallurgical raw materials, waste disposal, transport and equipment, and other sectors of the economy;
• prospects for the implementation of investment projects;
• exchange of experience in the field of technologies for metal scrap and waste management, equipment for electrometallurgy, production of metal products and semi-finished products;
• development of export-import relations, logistics and new logistical chains;
• banking services and support of international financial transactions in the current conditions.

The business programme of the conference was opened with a brief introductory speech by the Director of the National Recycling Association RUSLOM.COM Victor Kovshevny and the Advisor of the Material Recycling Association of India Mr. Satish Kohli.

Next, the Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in the Republic of India, Alexander Rybas, made a presentation to the event’s participants, highlighting the current state and forecasts for the development of the Indian economy and current prospects for cooperation with Russia in various industries, as well as data on the dynamics of the country’s foreign trade. Thus, over the past year, the volume of exports from India increased from $291.1 billion to $377.4 billion, while the volume of imports increased from $393.6 billion to $549.9 billion. Meanwhile, the trade turnover between India and Russia in 2021 amounted to $13.5 billion. In 2020, this figure was $9.3 billion.

The speaker named the goals set by the Government of India to increase the output of metallurgical products in the country from 100 million tonnes per year at present to 300 million tonnes by 2030 as the most important factor determining the prospects for cooperation between Russia and India in the field of metallurgy. Regarding the declared indicators, India, which is already one of the three leading metallurgical powers of the world, will require active foreign economic cooperation, also with Russian partners.

The speaker named the top 10 industries that the Government of India prioritises and spoke about the Make in India and Self-Reliant India programmes, how these programmes, aimed at growth of the Indian economy and an increase in the country’s middle-class’s welfare (which at the moment is, according to various estimates, from 150 to 300 million people), can be useful for building mutually beneficial cooperation with Russian companies in the field of metallurgy and scrap recycling. Thus, priority attention in the above programmes is given to the development of the automobile industry (investment amount is 450 billion dollars), construction and infrastructure (investment amount is 640 billion dollars), production of electronic components (investment amount is 260 billion dollars), railroads (investment amount is 142 billion dollars) and others. All mentioned sectors of the economy are active consumers of metal, metal products, metallurgical raw materials and scrap.

While sharing with the audience the information on the investment scale of the programmes described above, the Russian Trade Representative noted that in general, the case is about 21 industries with a total investment of $4.6 trillion.

In conclusion, Mr. Rybas provided the participants with useful information about the peculiar properties one has to be aware of when entering the Indian market and negotiating with local businessmen.

Next speaker in the opening part of the conference was Alexey Afanasyev, the Counsellor of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of India, who offered the entrepreneurs detailed information about the current state and prospects of foreign policy and economic cooperation between the two countries. The speaker noted that Russian-Indian relations of especially privileged strategic partnership were increasingly developing in all areas of the bilateral agenda in recent years. Trade and economic cooperation shows positive dynamics, despite the COVID-19 restrictions in 2020-2021 and unprecedented anti-Russian sanctions of the Western countries this year. According to the Russian Federal Customs Service, in 2021, bilateral trade increased by more than 46%, reaching $13.6 billion. The diplomat noted that at present the relevant authorities and organisations of Russia and India were actively engaged in building trade cooperation and searching for mutually acceptable ways to overcome the negative consequences for business, caused by the unilateral restrictions of the West.

The speaker urged Russian entrepreneurs to more actively develop the extremely capacious Indian market and, at the same time, provide business partners from India with a greater range of opportunities for developing mutual business by forming and strengthening horizontal ties, also via establishing joint ventures in both countries.

Further, the floor was taken by a Committee on International Cooperation of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) member, Director of Public Relations of the National Recycling Association RUSLOM.COM Alexey Kondratyev. The topic of his presentation was ‘The Interests of Russian Business in India: A View from the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs’.

Mr. Kondratyev told the Indian part of the audience about the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, which represents the interests of the leading players in the Russian economy in a wide range of industries and regions of the country. He also spoke about the international RSPP activity in promoting Russian business interests, including its interaction with international business associations such as B20, BRICS, the EAEU Business Council, the North East Asia Business Association, the APEC Business Advisory Council and others. The speaker emphasised the strategic cooperation of the National Recycling Association RUSLOM.COM and the RSPP, which was reflected in a number of projects, including the publication of a special issue of the RSPP magazine Business of Russia in 2020, which was dedicated to the metal recycling market, as well as RUSLOM and RSPP’s mutual input in organising a business mission of Russian metal and metal scrap industry entrepreneurs to Hungary in October 2021 and a business conference on Russian-Hungarian business cooperation in Budapest.

The speaker named a number of specific areas and projects of foreign economic cooperation with India, where RSPP member companies have proposals to partners in India, which aroused the legitimate interest of the audience.

The Director of the Material Recycling Association of India (MRAI) Mr. Ritesh Maheshwari as the next speaker on the agenda spoke about the activities of the Association in India and its achievements in the interaction with the Indian government, including the abolition of import duties on ferrous scrap to India two years ago. MRAI was founded in 2011 as the Metal Recycling Association of India. As a result of its rapid development this metallurgical industry organisation turned into a full-fledged multi-industry recycling association, possessing the support of the Indian government, which instructed it to address recycling issues, not limited to the metallurgical sector. Currently, MRAI has more than 1,200 members engaged in recycling, including metals, plastics, paper, waste and e-waste, tires and rubber, glass, automobiles, construction and demolition, and water treatment. Mr. Maheshwari spoke about the process of processing ferrous and non-ferrous scrap in India.

The National Recycling Association RUSLOM.COM Director Victor Kovshevny’

s report on cooperation between Russia and India in the field of metallurgy and scrap processing was met with great interest.

The speaker, with regard to the impact of scrap metal on the Russian market, presented data on the share of scrap in the end metal products. Thus, for carbon steel, this share is 44%, for copper and aluminium it is 48% and 30% respectively. The proportion of scrap metal in stainless steel reaches 100%, while in other metals it varies from 20% to 80%.

In addition, Victor Kovshevny spoke in detail about the potential of the scrap market. It is noteworthy that the efficiency of ferrous scrap collection, estimated at 62% in 2021, will fall to 42% by 2025 and will start to recover after it. According to the above estimates, by 2035 it will reach approximately 66%. A similar picture is actual for copper and aluminium scrap. The efficiency of collecting copper scrap will decrease from 62% in 2021 to 43% in 2025, and by 2035 it will return to the level of 61%. The efficiency of aluminium scrap collection will decrease from 58% in 2021 to 43% in 2025 and recover to 58% by 2035.

The Director of the Association, together with his colleague from MRAI, formulated one of the most sought-after areas of cooperation between the two business associations. It is joint check by the two associations of industry counterparties in Russia and India, willing to do business together. Both Russian and Indian audiences welcomed the proposal.

In the next block of the conference, speeches were made by representatives of the banking sector. Nikita Zhvachkin, Head of Corporate Clients and Financial Institutions at Sberbank India, spoke about the possibilities of Russian-Indian business cooperation from the point of view of Russian financial institutions represented in India. In particular, the speaker emphasised the possibility and advantages of servicing bilateral contracts denominated in national currencies, by Sberbank India.

The next presentation was made by Sergey Mitreikin, Head of the Gazprombank Representative Office in India. The speaker highlighted India’s growing role in the global economy. Thus, according to the IMF forecast, it will become the fastest growing major economy in the world in 2022. And if the growth rates maintain, by 2030 India will take 3rd place among world economies in terms of nominal GDP. The Indian market is complex and risky, but has almost unlimited potential for those who can master it.

In his speech, Vice-President of Moscow Credit Bank Vadim Timokhin noted that India was a strategically important partner for Russia and the bank was ready to support Russian business going to India. In this regard, among the possible initiatives are increase in the use of national currencies through joint investment programmes, attracting public funding in rupees and roubles for Russian-Indian projects and trade contracts.

The next speaker of the conference was Tribhuvan Darbari, Managing Director and CEO of Texmaco Rail & Engineering Limited, an Indian company that manufactures a wide range of products such as rail freight cars, hydromechanical equipment and industrial structures, locomotive components and bodies, steel beams for railway bridges. In turn, Texmaco Defence Systems, where Mr. Darbari also holds the position of Managing Director and CEO, implements important projects in the country’s defence industry complex.

According to the speaker, India is the second largest steel producer in the world with a production volume of 108 million metric tonnes. The target capacity of the country’s steel industry is to reach 300 million metric tonnes by 2030. In this regard, scrap metal is playing an increasingly important role, as its use has become an integral part of the modern steel industry, increasing the industry’s economic efficiency and reducing the environmental impact. Nearly 40% of world steel production is made from scrap metal, reducing CO2 emissions by 58%. Processing one tonne of steel saves 1100 kg of iron ore, 630 kg of coal and 55 kg of limestone.

It is noteworthy that in 2018-2019, India imported 6.7 million tonnes of ferrous scrap, and in 2019-20, the volume of imports amounted to 4.6 million tonnes.

Mr. Sudhir Gupta, Director of Advance Hydrau Technologies, a manufacturer and exporter of scrap metal recycling machines since 1979, spoke about the company’s advanced technologies and gave a detailed presentation of current products.

Mr. Gupta noted that today the attention of the world community is focused on India as an alternative manufacturing centre. India and Russia need to forge stronger partnerships, also trade associations and joint ventures. The main obstacles for the development of Advance Hydrau Technologies in the Russian market at the moment are the language barrier and the abundance of Chinese technology.

Dmitry Stukalov, Project Manager of Rusmet Rating Agency, made a presentation on industry products and ratings of the agency. He told the audience about the history of the agency, founded 25 years ago, and noted that, since the main Western rating companies had left the Russian market in 2022, RA Rusmet remained the only domestic company providing up-to-date industry quotes in the field of metallurgy and scrap collection.

To achieve maximum reliability, quotes are formed by consolidating information from official databases of domestic sources, with due regard to daily monitoring of markets and expert assessments, using proprietary digital tools and RA Rusmet methodology. It is important that the Rating Agency’s data and conclusions are recognised by the players in the scrap market, such as the members of the National Recycling Association RUSLOM.COM, and are accepted as arguments by the government bodies (Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation and others).

In the following section devoted to blitz presentations of Russian companies, Victor Dvorovoy, Commercial Director of Yug-Met, spoke about Technology Park Yug-Met, which is a modern infrastructure complex that hosts production workshops, warehouses, a logistics centre and office premises on its site. Today, over 10 metallurgical and scrap processing companies are the technology park’s residents.

Mr. Shubh Gautam, Chief Technical Architect of American Precoat, told the conference participants about the particular qualities of the Indian market, the need to make sound marketing decisions for Russian entrepreneurs coming to India.

A representative of Ghaziabad Precision Products, producing components for engines, transmissions and mechanisms since 1988, also spoke in the blitz presentations section dedicated of Indian companies. The company plans to expand its activities in Latin America, South Korea, Russia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. In 2025, Ghaziabad Precision Products aims to reach the $125 million trade volume milestone.

The business programme of the event ended with a gift-giving ceremony and an evening reception.

The business mission programme in India will last until June 6th. During the trip, the Russian delegation of the National Recycling Association RUSLOM.COM will meet with the Material Recycling Association of India to hold a separate industry round table and sign an agreement at the headquarters of the Indian Association in Mumbai.

In addition, visits to scrap processing and metallurgical enterprises are planned, as well as an excursion to the world’s largest shipbreaking region in Alang.

RUSLOM.COM’s activities in India were supported by its strategic partners for the duration of the business mission by the Material Recycling Association of India and Electrotherm.

National Recycling Association RUSLOM.COM is the only official industry association of scrap processors in Russia with the national self-regulatory organisation status. The Association members are more than 300 companies from among the procurement divisions of metallurgical plants, independent processors, exporters and traders, which are leaders of the market and government programmes. Members of the National Recycling Association RUSLOM.COM own 100% of the shredding capacity in Russia and 75% of the market in terms of consumption of steel scrap in Russia.

The Association’s mission is to ensure the resource and environmental security of Russia by means of returning recoverable materials to the economic turnover.

The Association’s goal is to create a high-tech metal recycling industry in Russia.

Alexey Kondratyev
Director, Public Relations
National Recycling Association RUSLOM.COM
 Address: Moscow, 2nd Kazachiy lane, 11, p. 1
Tel.  +7 (499) 490-49-28
Mob. tel. +7 (903) 363-5393
Email   a.kondratiev@ruslom.com

The post Indian-Russian conference Commercial and Industrial Dialogue and Business Cooperation held in Delhi on May 30 appeared first on Ferrous and non-ferrous scrap & wastes processors and vehicle recyclers.

The Scrap of Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Metals Forum is the Europe’s largest annual recycling forum and exhibition, which brings together raw material consumers, processors, and recyclers; manufacturers and technology suppliers; leading experts, rating agencies, and industry media from around the world. In 2022, the forum brought together about 1,000 delegates, more than 50 leading experts spoke to the audience.

The year 2022 marks the 100th anniversary of the Russian scrap collection and processing industry. In this momentous, but challenging year for scrap processors, the business programme addressed the anti-crisis agenda of the industry, business support, and new market trends. The focus was on establishing sales, financing and restoring logistics supply chains for ferrous, non-ferrous and precious metal scrap, preventing a decrease in scrap collection, as well as improving the regulatory framework and implementing governmental strategic documents in the field of industry and ecology. The agenda of the need to abolish export duties on scrap, paired with an economically reasonable policy on the issues of quotas and bans on the export of scrap was updated again. The topics of anti-crisis marketing in the metallurgical and scrap collection sectors, as well as the opportunities of working with the banking sector amidst the economic sanctions attracted great interest of the participants.

The main speakers of the Forum were the representatives of regulatory authorities, major market participants, rating agencies, professional associations, banking and financial institutions, and international industry professionals that are aimed at maintaining and developing cooperation with Russia. Among the speakers were:

• Viktor Kovshevny, Chairman of the Scrap of Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Metals Forum, Director of the Association NSRO RUSLOM.COM;
• Albina Dudareva, Executive Director of the Association for the Promotion of the Circular Economy Resurs, Advisor to the General Director of the Russian Environmental Operator;
• Andrey Savelyev, Head of the Department for the Development of Ferrous Metallurgy, Pipe Industry, and Metal Structures of the Department of Metallurgy and Materials of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation;
• Andrey Zelenin, Director General of Rating Agency Rusmet;
• Alexander Kobenko, Chairman of Business Russia Waste Recycling and Secondary Resources Committee, member of Akron Holding Board of Directors;
• Sergey Astakhov, Director General of TransLom LLC, member of the Presidium of the Association NSRO RUSLOM.COM;
• Victor Haefeli, Dr. sc. techn. at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Chairman of the WEEE Solutions

As part of the List of Priority Measures to Enhance the Regulatory and Legal Framework for the Scrap and Waste of Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Metals Industry, which is intended by the Government of the Russian Federation to be implemented in 2021-2023, the Association NSRO RUSLOM.COM has developed a number of proposals and presented them in detail to the professional community during the Forum. In particular, it is expected to introduce predominantly non-cash payments for scrap handed over by citizens and the abolition of personal income tax on income gained from such operations. It also included the increasing of the administrative responsibility and fines for the illegal turnover of scrap while removing licensing administrative barriers for trustworthy players. In addition, solutions on how to involve hard-to-reach and unaccounted scrap in re-circulation were outlined.

As part of the event programme, Association NSRO RUSLOM.COM members and the Forum participants’ delegations visited MTZ TRANSMASH production facilities and the Research and Production Enterprise TEMP named after F. Korotkov.

Within the forum, cooperation agreements were signed between: the Association NSRO RUSLOM.COM and RT-Invest Recycling LLC (part of Rostec), the Association NSRO RUSLOM.COM and the State Research Centre of the Russian Federation Troitsk Institute for Innovation and Fusion Research TRINITI (part of Rosatom). The Torg-Koms group of companies and FAW Eastern Europe signed a dealership agreement.

The event information partners were the leading industry, federal, and international media: the Interfax news agency, the Izvestia information centre, the Argus Media, the MetalTorg.Ru news agency, the Municipal Solid Waste magazine, the Ecologist’s Handbook magazine, the Market Electro magazine, the Cleandex portal, and the Helpinver portal.

The participants of the Scrap of Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Metals Forum and the MIR-Expo-2022 exhibition highly appreciated the level of the event and noted that its format is of great relevance in the current new stage of the industry development, which in 2021 was officially recognised as an independent one.

Founded in 1997, Rusmet Rating Agency LLC is a rating agency that develops a system of industry rating and analysis of market, prices, and their indices in the sphere of metal circulation, metal products, and scrap and waste of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The company provides a wide range of services, the main of which are analytical studies of the metal scrap market, prices in this market, as well as the reliability assessment of the entities involved in the process of collecting, storing, processing, and selling scrap and metal waste.

Contact info:
Alexey Kondratyev
Press service
Tel.                 +7 (495) 980-06-08
Mob. tel.         +7 (903) 363-53-93
E-mail a.kondratiev@ruslom.com

The post Scrap of Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Metals international forum and the MIR-Expo-2022 exhibition were held in Moscow appeared first on Ferrous and non-ferrous scrap & wastes processors and vehicle recyclers.

More than 1,000 market leaders take part in the event each year. Among them are raw materials consumers, waste processors and utilisers, manufacturers and technology suppliers, leading experts, rating and industry media.

The past year has challenged the entire global economy because of the pandemic; this year business processes are already adapting to the new geopolitical situation. The metallurgical sector in Russia was among the first to show positive dynamics and to begin overcoming the crisis. At the same time, the procurement of scrap metals, which is the foundation of the raw material security of metallurgy, turned out to be at risk due to regulatory restrictions and lack of state support measures.

To support the smooth and efficient operation of the scrap market during this transition period, the industry community of scrap processors, represented by the Association NSRO RUSLOM.COM, has developed proposals as part of the List of Priority Measures to Enhance the Regulatory and Legal Framework for the Scrap and Waste of Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Metals Industry, which is intended by the Government of the Russian Federation to be implemented in 2021-2023.

In particular, it is expected to introduce predominantly non-cash payments for scrap handed over by citizens and the abolition of personal income tax on income gained from such operations. The increasing of administrative responsibility and fines for the illegal turnover of scrap while removing licensing administrative barriers for trustworthy players are also provided for. In addition, solutions on how to involve hard-to-reach and unaccounted scrap in the re-circulation are outlined. These categories include scrap from the Arctic zones, flooded ships, distressed and abandoned facilities, as well as end-of-life vehicles and equipment. The Association is confident that the reforms under the List, launched in 2021, cannot be postponed; it is necessary to intensify their implementation, supplemented with state support measures.

The year 2022 marks the 100th anniversary of the Russian scrap collection industry. This is a difficult but an extremely important year for the sector, which not a long time ago – in 2021 – was officially recognised as an independent industry. Today, the state welcomes more the freedom of entrepreneurship and the business initiative of the professional community, and gradually transforms the industry into a self-regulated one.

This year, the business programme will address the anti-crisis agenda of the industry, support of business, and new market trends. The focus is on establishing sales, financing and restoring logistics supply chains for ferrous, non-ferrous and precious metal scrap, preventing a decrease in scrap collection, as well as improving the regulatory framework and implementing government strategic documents in the field of industry and ecology.

The business programme of the event includes the following:

• A strategic session with the participation of the State Duma deputies, representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Eurasian Economic Commission, relevant departments of the Moscow Government, and other representatives of state bodies.
• Sessions on markets of copper, aluminium, lead, rare earth and precious metals, scrap of ferrous metals, electrical waste and electronic equipment.
• A special session on working with the banking sector in the context of economic sanctions.
• A round table on foreign economic activity, including bans, duties, and quotas for scrap exports in 2022.
• A round table on anti-crisis marketing in the field of metallurgy and scrap collection.

Special attention will be paid to the reform of control and supervision activities and antimonopoly regulation in the scrap and metal waste industry during a seminar for the executive bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and delegates from the regions of the country.

In addition, a joint meeting of the Industry Committee for the Development of the Circular Economy of the Chamber of Commerce of Russia and Association NSRO RUSLOM.COM will be held on the topic of dismantling buildings and structures and working with construction waste.

The event features a unique format of non-stop networking. The integration of the business programme and the exhibition will allow the participants to work as efficiently as possible on the business site, combining theory with practice and communication.

The Forum is held by Rating Agency Rusmet LLC, established in 1997.

Founded in 1997, Rusmet Rating Agency LLC is a rating agency that develops a system of industry rating and analysis of market prices and their indices in the sphere of metal circulation, metal products, and scrap and waste of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The company provides a wide range of services, the main ones are analytical studies of the metal scrap market, market prices as well as the reliability assessment of the entities involved in the process of collecting, storing, processing, and selling scrap and metal waste.

The post International Forum Scrap of Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Metals and MIR-Expo-2022 exhibition will be held on April 12-14, 2022 in Moscow appeared first on Ferrous and non-ferrous scrap & wastes processors and vehicle recyclers.

As part of systematic work aimed at consolidating the scrap processing industry, improving its image, and increasing transparency, the Association traditionally acts as a host and an active participant in many specialised events. 2022 is no exception. The Association scheduled a number of significant events; the most important ones will be associated with the notable dates mentioned above.

For the 100th anniversary of the scrap industry and the 10th anniversary of RUSLOM.COM, the Association prepared a number of regional tours, which include the exchange of experience between industry participants and visits to scrap collection sites in various regions of Russia. Tour participants will be able to learn best practices and establish additional contacts with their colleagues across the country.

Thus, in January‑February, regional business trips will take place in Mordovia; in February – in the Krasnodar Region and Sochi; in April – in Volgograd-Saratov; in June – in the Russian Far East; in July – in Yekaterinburg, Magnitogorsk, and Chelyabinsk. For August, a regional tour Nizhnevartovsk (Surgut)-Omsk is scheduled, which includes hosting a round table The Siberian Scrap Market. In September, a conference on the forecast of prices for metallurgical raw materials and a general meeting in Moscow will be held; October has already become a traditional month for the forum of scrap processors in Kazan; November will be opened by the Metal Expo exhibition with the participation of the Association. And in December we will sum up the results at our annual meeting.

In February 2022, RUSLOM.COM will take part in the Russian Investment Forum, which is one of the most important regional forums of the country and a key platform for discussing the implementation of national projects, building economic potential and demonstrating the investment opportunities of the regions of the Russian Federation in order to ensure prosperity and higher quality of lives of the citizens. On the sidelines of the Forum, the Regular General Meeting of the Association members will be held; an industry session will be held within the framework of the Forum.

The Association has traditionally planned an extensive programme of international cooperation for its members.

Throughout the year, the Association scheduled a series of events devoted to the international agenda in cooperation with the largest Russian business associations, such as the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), Delovaya Rossiya, and the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI). The events will touch upon the issues of export duties on scrap and metal, recycling of scrap and disposal of vehicles, electronics, batteries and other topics relevant for the industry.

In March 2022, a delegation of the Association plans to take part in a business trip to the United States; the trip includes participating in ISRI 2022 programme, visits to production facilities, meetings with scrap processing leaders and experts. ISRI is the world’s largest trade show for the waste management industry, bringing together over 300 product and service providers, experts and industry participants from over 50 countries. A business trip will be an important step to learn the most up-to date experience in the recycling industry, get acquainted with the cutting-edge technologies and approaches to managing business.

In April, marked by the celebration of the Day of the Scrap Collector and the 100th anniversary of the industry, the MIR Expo 2022 exhibition and the Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Scrap Forum, which are the largest industry event in the country throughout the year, will be held. Every year, over 1,000 market leaders in scrap and waste processing, metallurgy, and related industries from Russia and other countries of the world take part in the event. The speakers of the event are representatives of legislative and executive government authorities, including the State Duma of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Federal Antimonopoly Service, the Federal Taxation Service, as well as representatives of Russian and international organisations such as the EAEU, BIR, EURiC, Delovaya Rossiya, and recognised industry expert organizations Argus, Platts, RA Rusmet and others.

In May 2022, the Association will send a delegation to participate in a business tour to Italy and Switzerland to exchange experience in the field of metallurgy, scrap and waste management, and recycling practices. Participants of the event will be able to get acquainted with the advanced technologies of the European recycling market, as well as establish business relations with foreign companies.

In June, RUSLOM.COM will take part in the conference The Market of Scrap and Metals in the Far Eastern Federal District, and in July 2022 it will participate in the thematic session of the international industrial exhibition INNOPROM in Yekaterinburg. More than 43,000 visitors from 22 countries and more than 1,500 journalists are expected at the exhibition. The main focus of INNOPROM this year will be the industrial and energy transition, which in the next decade is going to become a major factor in global industry and will affect all sectors without exception. The structural transformation of the global energy balance will entail a radical modernisation of industrial technologies and a rethinking of economic and production models.

September will be rich in events. This month the Association’s programme includes the conference Metal Cruise on a ship, participation in the annual forum of scrap collectors Zilant Kazan-2022, as well as the international exhibition for waste management, environmental technologies, ecology, and renewable energy WasteTech.

In October, RUSLOM.COM will take part in the thematic session of the 25th World Energy Congress in St. Petersburg. As one of the world’s leading forums on energy, the Congress provides participants with an opportunity to understand energy issues and find ways to solve them on a global scale, from defining the future of energy policy to successful transition to new energy sources.

And in November, the Association will take part in the 28th International Industrial Exhibition Metal-Expo; 50 events, 326 speakers and more than 5,000 delegates are expected at this event. Within the exhibition, representatives of the professional community will be able to discuss topical aspects of the industry development, metal market trends, and exchange experience.

The last few years have taught us all maximum flexibility and increased ability to adapt our tasks to the changing circumstances of the outside world; therefore, of course, the outlined plans of the Association may be subject to adjustment, but it may also be in the direction of increasing the number and variety of events. The Association promptly and flexibly responds to current events and market conditions, so throughout the year we can come up with various additional proposals.

Association NSRO RUSLOM.COM is the only official industry association of scrap processors in Russia with the national self-regulatory organisation status. The Association members are more than 300 companies from among the procurement divisions of metallurgical plants, independent processors, exporters and traders, which are leaders of the market and government programmes. Members of the Association NSRO RUSLOM.COM own 100% of the shredding capacity in Russia and 75% of the market in terms of consumption of steel scrap in Russia.
The Association’s mission is to ensure the resource and environmental security of Russia by means of returning recoverable materials to the economic turnover.

The Association’s goal is to create a high-tech metal recycling industry in Russia.

 Alexey Kondratyev
Director, Public Relations
Association NSRO RUSLOM.COM

Address:         Moscow, 2nd Kazachiy lane, 11, p. 1
Tel.                 +7 (499) 490-49-28
Mob. tel.         +7 (903) 363-5393
Email              a.kondratiev@ruslom.com

The post Association NSRO RUSLOM.COM announces its business events map for 2022 appeared first on Ferrous and non-ferrous scrap & wastes processors and vehicle recyclers.

The Association NSRO RUSLOM.COM is the only official industry association of metal scrap processors in Russia with a national self-regulatory organisation (SRO) status. The Association possesses more than 340 active members, including procurement divisions of major metal plants, leading independent scrap processors, exporters and traders. Members of the Association own 100% of shredding capacities in Russia and occupy 75% of the market in terms of steel scrap consumption.

On its own behalf and on behalf of its members, the Association NSRO RUSLOM.COM declares the following.

On Wednesday (May 19, 2021) it was announced that the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation is considering the possibility of doubling the export duties on ferrous scrap up to 90 euros per tonne. The main goal of the initiative is to decelerate the growth of metal prices on the domestic market. On January 30, 2021 the Government of the Russian Federation has already established an export customs duty on scrap in the amount of 5% but not less than 45 euros per tonne, for a period of 180 days. The measure was positioned as an attempt to hold the prices for metal products and consequently for construction and housing in the domestic market. It reduced scrap exports to a record level of the last four years. However, it did not have the expected impact on metal prices.

To demonstrate the positive effect of this initiative, the Ministry of Industry and Trade provided data on 697.9 million roubles additionally received by the budget due to the collection of duties in less than four months of this year.

According to the position of the Association RUSLOM.COM, the initiators did not take into consideration the consequences for the market while developing their plan for a new increase of duties.

According to the Association’s data, the actual financial damage and negative economic effect for the country caused from February to April 2021 while the duties were in effect amounted to more than 1.4 billion roubles. First of all, this is the loss of budget revenue, including from customs payment in the amount of 799 million roubles and taxes in the amount of 602 million roubles. It is also necessary to take into account the loss of revenue of Russian seaports in the amount of 570‑670 million roubles as a result of a decrease in the volume of scrap transhipment by 602 thousand tonnes. The duties also led to a decrease in the inflow of foreign currency earnings to the country by 16.5 billion roubles (USD 59.9 million in February, USD 122.1 million in March and USD 37.4 million in April). This is a substantial decline in the GDP of Russia, given the absence of a commensurable increase in reinforcing steel production. The level of reinforcing steel consumption is lower than of 2020. Moreover, the measures eliminated 2,300 jobs in the country’s scrap and waste metal processing industry in three months. This trend increases social and economic tension in the regions, as well as negatively affects the amount of tax deduction from wages.

Justifying the increase of the duties the Ministry of Industry and Trade notes that against the background of increased purchasing priced for ferrous scrap in Turkey in April 2021, there is a threefold increase in the export of scrap from Russia to Turkey compared to March of this year, from 24.8 to 75.4 thousand tonnes. However, in our opinion, it is more correct to compare with the same period of the last year. In this case, the scrap export in the first three months of the 45 euros duties being in effect decreases 5 times.

When comparing prices in Turkey and Russia, it is necessary to take into account that there are additional costs along the supply chain. These are freight, duty, transhipment in ports, operating expenses, including agency, surveyor expenses (insurance), the cost of credit and taxes of participants in foreign economic activity. Considering all these costs the February collapse of export becomes understandable. According to Rating Agency Rusmet, which deals with price and market analysis, in February 2021 scrap exports decreased to a historically low level in the last 20 years, as the 45 euro duty made it unprofitable. At current prices and costs of exporters an increase of the duty to 70 euros would make exports unprofitable. The table below shows that the Russian scrap export now remains at the level which is much lower than of 2020.

Table. Export of ferrous scrap from Russia, thousand tonnes

An increase of the duty to 70 euro in the situation of unstable demand for scrap and high price volatility will lead to a complete closure of exports. The growth of world prices has exhausted its possibilities for continuation; there is a very high probability of a price rollback, which is shown by futures transactions on the London Metal Exchange. Export enterprises provide 20 thousand jobs. Export grants scrap processors stability, required to successfully operate on the domestic market. Taking into account the terms and conditions of payment, export provides current assets for working with the Russian plants. The unstable demand from various sectors of the Russian metallurgy shall also be taken into account. For example, the production of welded pipes in the first quarter of 2021 fell by 14% compared to 2020.

The introduction of the increased duty this year has no effect on the stabilisation of prices for the metal products. First of all, prices for rolled metal products in the domestic market are practically independent of scrap prices, but determined by external prices. Secondly, there is a risk of rush exports amid an increase of the duty to 70 euros per tonne and a corresponding destabilisation of prices under pressure on the market as it was already in January 2021.

The price of reinforcing steel also did not follow the dynamics of prices for ferrous scrap. In January 2021 it was 62 thousand roubles per tonne, in early and mid-February it decreased (due to close attention and inspections by the authorities) to 48 thousand roubles and at the end of February it increased to 67 thousand roubles per tonne. The decrease of available reinforcing steel in stock created increased demand and price growth after a short-term decline.

After the initiation of an increased duty on scrap this year the consumption by metallurgical enterprises in Russia increased by 25%, while the consumption of reinforced steel remained at the same level compared to the same period in 2020. This shows that scrap was not used for producing construction metal rolling for the domestic market but for the production of steel semi-finished products, hot rolled coils, steel wire rod and wire, which were exported. The export of these products has grown in line with world prices. Therefore, the internal shortage of reinforcing steel and other metal structures and the increase in their prices at the domestic construction market is not related to the increase in scrap prices.

Furthermore, the increase of the duty will inevitably negatively affect the volume of the scrap collection in export oriented, but metal intensive regions of Russia such as North-western Federal District and the Far Eastern Federal District. The scrap, not collected for export, will add to the accumulated environmental damage and will not be recycled. In addition to environmental and economic damage this situation will negatively affect the competitiveness of domestic metallurgy, given the global trend towards reducing CO2 emissions. Plants will have to involve more primary raw materials in production instead of scrap and this implies an increase in greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.

Another important negative effect is a significant risk of retaliatory sanctions and compensatory measures from the global community, considering the negative experience of quotas for scrap exports from Russia. The introduction of the duty is already looking like an attempt to restrict trade and a measure to subsidize metallurgical exports. Its increase amid the current collapse in exports will only strengthen these suspicions. Countermeasure from importing countries may be anti-dumping duties against Russian steel products, that can be applied to the entire industry or can be calculated individually for each plant. Furthermore, tariff and non-tariff restrictive measures are usually introduced by the country for 6‑12 months, but the countermeasures applied to businesses stay in effect for up to 5 years. In 2000, when Russia was not a WTO member, quotas were introduced for Russian suppliers on metal rolling in response to our duties. In 2020 new mechanisms for responding to violation of obligations were put into effect by the WTO; they can be applied to Russia.

It is also worth noting that since the new duty was introduced in 2021, only 2.6% of the total volume of scrap metal is exported; at the same time, 35‑50% of rolled metal and reinforcing steel (depending on the product type) goes for export. Meanwhile, export duties for some reason are introduced for scrap. It may lead to a reorientation of scrap collectors from export of scrap metal to its processing, production and export of steel billets and reinforcing steel. The appearance of such a large number of new processing facilities on the market will lead to even a greater destabilisation.

The same path was followed by the Russian non-ferrous metallurgy; the protective duties on the export on non-ferrous scrap were in effect for many years. This led to the creation of hundreds of small production facilities; nowadays the production capacity on the aluminium, copper and lead markets is several times higher than the non-ferrous scrap collection capacity.

All these arguments suggest that an increase of the duty will not lead to the results for which it was initiated. Conversely, it will have an extremely negative impact on the domestic market.

The Association NSRO RUSLOM.COM calls for complete abolition of the duties from June 1, 2021 instead of introducing the new ones, in order to avoid further damage to the state and business. At the same time the Association is ready for a constructive dialogue with the supporters of market restrictions and comes up with an initiative aimed to improve its transparency and regulatory quality. We suggest using market mechanisms rather than protective barriers. The presence of personal income tax for individuals who deliver scrap significantly reduces the efficiency of the industry at the moment. There is also a significant shadow sector, which receives unjustified profits unlike the trustworthy players. In our opinion it is necessary to:

• cancel personal income tax for individuals who deliver scrap;
• adopt the law which implies transition to non-cash payments of scrap collectors with individuals;
• increase the fines for violations by individuals in the field of scrap turnover.

Director of the Association NSRO RUSLOM.COM                               Victor V. Kovshevny

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The Association considers such initiatives unreasonable and extremely dangerous for the scrap industry. The pipe producers union explains the need to introduce restrictions on a possible shortage of metallurgical raw materials during the period of quarantine measures in the country, which is not true. At the moment, there are no recorded cases of metallurgical plants shutdown or disruptions in production due to lack of scrap.

At the same time, there are currently no prerequisites for an increase in steel production, since the world has seen a slowdown in the economy and a significant decline in demand for metal. The initiators of the restrictions introduction lack substantiated arguments in the form of real contracts, applications or requests, government orders and other weighty legal grounds that confirm plans for the growth of metallurgical production in Russia and the lack of the possibility of acquiring scrap without taking prohibitive measures.

For an objective assessment of the situation RUSLOM.COM prepared a balance of procurement and consumption of ferrous scrap for 2017-2019, with a forecast for 2020. For calculations, we used data from metallurgical plants for the transportation of ferrous scrap, including rail, road and water. For analysis, we took the Russian Railways database, data from the Federal Customs Service of Russia, expert estimates, and the results of monitoring the opinions of scrap market players through a survey and questionnaire. Calculations were made on the use of scrap in the metallurgical charge for each of the plants.

The data obtained indicate that in the period from 2017 to 2020, the peak of scrap procurement and consumption in Russia was in 2018. In 2019, there was a decrease in the procurement of scrap of ferrous metals compared to 2018 by 1 million tons. This was due to two factors. The first of these is the global trend to reduce the consumption of finished metal products, which has spread to Russia. But to a greater extent, the reduction in procurement occurred due to the restriction of export of ferrous scrap from the country, introduced in September 2019.

This undermined scrap procurement in the country, and metallurgists did not fulfill their promises and, as a result, reduced, rather than increased, steel production. As a result of the restrictions, the Russian federal budget incurred customs losses in excess of 340 million rubles and 6,8 billion US dollars in foreign exchange earnings. The inevitable closure of scrap stores and the loss of jobs in the regions followed.

At present, domestic consumption of ferrous scrap by metallurgical plants is less than 27 million tons and will decrease due to global trends by at least another 10-15%. At the same time, more than 45 million tons of scrap and waste of ferrous metals are generated annually in Russia, which indicates a significant reserve for the return of raw materials to the economy. There are more than 110,000 unauthorised landfills in Russia, in which more than 250 million tons of metals are buried. And it is this scrap metal that should change its current status – from the status of accumulated environmental damage to the status of raw materials for metallurgy, thanks to state support measures.

According to the results of 2020, due to a decrease in demand for Russian metal products, the needs of domestic metallurgists may be significantly reduced. In Europe and the USA, according to the results of the 2nd quarter of 2020, a drop in metal production is expected to reach 70%. At the same time, export will provide an opportunity to maintain the scrap collection infrastructure in a working condition. In addition to this, in a number of regions, due to the peculiarities of logistics, scrap export is the only option for it to be actually sold. An attempt to solve local industry problems of certain consumers through quotas for the export of ferrous scrap will reduce the volume of scrap exports in 2020 by more than 29%.

Into addition, the introduction of quotas can be a direct threat to maintaining social stability, especially in the regions of Russia with low average per capita incomes. Scrap and metal waste management activities provide jobs for more than 60 thousand qualified professionals throughout the country, and make it possible for another 2 million people at least who are handing over scrap, to make a living.

Kazakhstan provides a vivid example of the consequences which export restrictive measures may have on the sector and the economy as a whole. The ban on exports had an extremely negative impact on the transparency of the scrap industry and production indicators. In Kazakhstan, scrap smuggling is recorded annually in the amount of 1 million tons, the price of scrap doubled due to a drop in collection by individuals and legal entities, metallurgical plants reduced production.

RUSLOM.COM clearly stands against the introduction of restrictive measures and is doing everything possible to convey the position of the industry to government representatives. Thus, the Association has already sent to the Department of Metallurgy and Materials of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation a response to the proposal to introduce a temporary quantitative restriction on the export from the Russian Federation of waste and scrap of ferrous metals. In addition, a letter is being prepared to the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin.

The post National Recycling Association RUSLOM.COM: arguments against the possible restriction of ferrous metals scrap export from Russia appeared first on Ferrous and non-ferrous scrap & wastes processors and vehicle recyclers.