Armenia extends ban on export of scrap metal until Feb. 1 2026 

ArmInfo. The Government of Armenia extends the temporary ban on the movement of a number of goods from the Republic of Armenia to the member states of the Eurasian Economic  Union and on their export to third countries. The decision was made by the Cabinet of Ministers on July 3 at a regular meeting.

As stated in the explanatory note to the document, in the absence of effective ferrous metal deposits (as well as the production of metallic copper) in Armenia, Armenian metalworking enterprises use local scrap metal and waste as raw materials. Based on this, the issue of the effective use of scrap and waste of ferrous and non-ferrous metals is extremely urgent in order to provide Armenian metalworking and metal processing enterprises with metal raw materials. Being a strategic product for Armenia, products made of ferrous and non-ferrous metals are of great importance for increasing  the country's defense capability and state security. From this point of view (taking into account the unfavorable economic conditions that have developed in the international arena), the issue of providing Armenian metalworking and metal processing enterprises with raw materials necessary for obtaining finished products from ferrous and non-ferrous metals is of great importance.

The experience of recent years has shown the economic inexpediency of working with scrap or blanks of ferrous and non-ferrous metals imported as raw materials (both from the EAEU countries and from third countries), due to the high prices of these imported products, as well as the lack of the possibility of their direct delivery by rail and high logistics costs. As a result, the final products manufactured by local enterprises using imported raw materials become uncompetitive even in the domestic market due to their high cost (compared to the same imported products). The above factors could lead to a deterioration in the financial condition of these enterprises and, ultimately, to the disruption and cessation of their production activities, which, in turn, led to dependence on imports. 

At the same time, the Ministry of Economy notes that in recent years, due to the high prices formed in foreign markets, there has been an intensive process of exporting ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metals from Armenia. If this process is not regulated, then dozens of enterprises in the local metallurgical and metalworking industry (as well as cable and wire production) will be forced to use exclusively imported scrap metal or blanks as raw materials, which (as was stated  at the beginning of the justification) does not solve the existing  problem. Almost all EAEU countries have also banned or limited the export of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, the department notes.

Considering the fact that the above-mentioned industries are of  strategic importance for Armenia and based on the need to ensure the efficiency of these enterprises, the government decree of 07.11.2024  temporarily (for a period of 6 months) banned the export of scrap and waste of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, as well as some used ferrous and non-ferrous metal products (that have lost their suitability for  use as primary products). Previously, a similar ban was introduced on  May 23, 2024 (before that - on December 21, 2023). 

As a result of the application of the export ban, the volume of local metal production has increased significantly, in particular, in the year following the introduction of the ban (2021), the production of steel ingots is characterized by continuous growth, in particular, in 2024, the production of non-alloy steel ingots increased by 2.3 times, the production of steel pipes, hollow sections and their fittings by 16.8%. As a result of the measures taken by the government, investments were directed to the industry in 2022-2025, including foreign ones (GTB Steel, Dzulakentro, Edmet, Aske Group, Tashir Group, Karakert Stone Smelting Plant, Asedl).

These companies plan to further deepen metal processing by producing profiles from the obtained castings, which are currently completely imported (import substitution will occur).

According to the forecasts of the Ministry of Economic Development, the total investment volume under the above programs will be about 100 million dollars, as a result of which 550-750 new jobs will be created, and the volume of use of local ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metals will increase by 65-70%, bringing the annual scrap consumption to 250 thousand tons. Taking into account the above, it is proposed that after the expiration of the ban on the export of goods, a new period of validity of the ban on export will be established, which will be in effect from August 1, 2025 to February 1, 2026.