The Cabinet brings a number of firms to the verge of bankruptcy.
The Cabinet has set a two-week deadline for commissions to completely audit all enterprises dealing in ferrous and nonferrous metal scrap. There are reasons to suspect that costly scrap avoiding Ukraine’s blast furnaces is being sold heavily abroad.
This decision caused suspension of contracts already registered with the Ministry of Foreign Economic Contacts and Trade, without considering the damage sustained by domestic firms and Ukraine’s image on the world market where punctuality in fulfilling contracts is considered a top priority.
Experts believe that the Cabinet-organized total inspections may result in Ukraine’s losing not only individual contracts (the Ministry of Industrial Policy issued over 3,000 such metal scrap licenses in 1996 alone), but its place in this market in general.
At the same time, it is alleged that scrap supplies from Ukraine continue and that certain firms have been granted exclusive rights, including Forum in Zaporizhzhia, supposedly “sponsored” by one of the Deputy Premiers.
All this indicates that the untouchable firms will be sitting pretty and those dealing with secondary and ferrous metals, to whom Ukrainian metallurgy owes staggering sums, will be left to die.
Fiko President Viktor Fedorov told The Day that banning scrap exports has inflicted tremendous losses. On one such day 11 of his trucks were not cleared through customs and this cost him $20,000, adding, “just imagine how much the budget will lose in terms of customs duties and taxes.” He thinks that the Cabinet’s sole purpose is to push through the “right people” and bar others access to the market.






