Russia plans to introduce temporary duties on the export of non-ferrous metals like copper and nickel, says the head of the Ministry of Economy Maxim Reshetnikov.

The government is proposing that a duty of at least 15% will be effective from 1 August to 31 December. Finance minister Anton Siluanov and minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov supported the proposal.

Export duty rates for copper will be $1,126/tonne and nickel $2,321/t, Kallanish notes.

According to first deputy prime minister Andrei Belousov, in August-December the budget can receive about RUB 50 billion ($692 million) from non-ferrous metallurgy. The funds received from the duties are supposed to be spent on reducing the costs of capital construction.

At the end of May, Belousov said in an interview with RBC newspaper that due to the rise in world and domestic prices, Russian metal traders had sharply increased their incomes and "have exploited" the state by about RUB 100 billion.

According to Reshetnikov, the duty will be valid only for supplies outside the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), but mechanisms are needed to counter re-export. He said that the government does not yet see the prerequisites for a correction in metal prices.

Against the background of this message, shares of Russian metallurgical companies fell noticeably in the trading on the Moscow Exchange at Thursday. Nornickel shares slimmed by as much as 6.3%.

Exports of unprocessed nickel in January-April decreased by 34.1% on-year to 19,600 t, according to Russian customs data. In monetary terms, shipments were 8.8% lower at $342.8m. Four-month exports of unprocessed copper amounted to 214,300 t, up by 3.3% y-o-y. In monetary terms, the indicators were 46.4% higher at $1.67m.

In 2020, exports of unprocessed nickel increased by 1% year-on-year to 135,500 t. In monetary terms, shipments were 1.2% higher at $1.86m.

Twelve-month exports of unprocessed copper amounted to 775,800 t, up by 10.4% y-o-y. In monetary terms, the indicators were 12.2% higher at $4.6m.