The EU member states purchased 62,372 tons of copper from Russia in 2023, which is 79% lower than the previous year, Vedomosti newspaper reports.
For comparison, in 2021 and 2022, Russia supplied 296,000 tons of metal to the European Union.
According to S&P, Russian copper producers have reoriented exports to China and Turkey. To these countries, the Russian Federation supplied almost half of the supplies that were redirected from the EU, namely 111,580 tons. In 2023, China imported 370,815 tons of copper from Russia (+14% year-on-year), and Turkey purchased 171,260 tons (+61%).
In total, EU countries imported 673,100 tons of copper over the past year, reducing purchases by 20%.
European states have also reduced titanium imports from Russia. In 2023, the EU purchased 6,410.1 tons of metal from Russian manufacturers, which is 20% less than in the previous year. In monetary terms, the value of imports decreased by 12%.
Alex Shishlo for Rough&Polished
