In January-October 2025, Ukrainian companies increased exports of ferrous metal scrap by 52.1% compared to the same period last year — to 345,197 tons from 226,970 tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS) on Wednesday, 33,357 tons were exported in October, 28,785 tons in September, 34,713 tons in August, 44,842 thousand tons in July, a record 47,691 thousand tons in June, 28.6 thousand tons in May, 46,321 thousand tons in April, 39,908 thousand tons in March, in February – 25,284 thousand tons, in January – 15,696 thousand tons of scrap.
In monetary terms, scrap exports in January-October increased by 43.4% – to $103.052 million from $71.862 million.
During this period, scrap exports were formally carried out mainly to Poland (81.08% of shipments in monetary terms), Greece (6.19%), and Italy (5.47%).
In the first 10 months of this year, Ukraine imported 34 tons of scrap worth $13,000 from Poland (53.85%), the Seychelles (30.77%), and the British Virgin Islands (7.69%).
As reported, due to the sharp increase in exports of strategic raw materials from Ukraine, the Ministry of Economy initiated the introduction of a licensing and quota regime for scrap exports with a zero quota. A public discussion of the draft resolution is currently underway. Its implementation is expected to contribute to the smooth operation of Ukraine’s metallurgical and foundry industries, as well as to stabilize the situation with regard to meeting the demand for scrap on the domestic market of Ukraine.
In 2024, Ukraine’s scrap collection companies increased their exports of ferrous metal scrap by 60.7% compared to 2023, from 182,465 thousand tons to 293,190 thousand tons. In monetary terms, scrap exports for the year increased by 73.2% to $91.311 million from $52.723 million.
In January-October of this year, Ukrainian mining companies reduced exports of iron ore raw materials (IORM) in physical terms by 4.41% compared to the same period last year, from 27 million 790.352 thousand tons to 26 million 565.296 thousand tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS) on Wednesday, foreign currency proceeds from iron ore exports decreased by 14.3% during this period, from $2 billion 341.865 million to $2 billion 7.246 million.
Exports of raw materials were mainly to China (44.49% of shipments in monetary terms), Slovakia (16.97%), and Poland (16.78%).
In addition, in January-October 2025, Ukraine imported mineral resources worth $86,000 in the amount of 118 tons from the Netherlands (51.16%), Italy (33.72%), and Norway (15.12%), while in the same period last year it imported 835 tons worth $261,000.
As reported, in 2024, Ukraine increased its exports of raw materials by 89.8% compared to 2023, to 33 million 699.722 thousand tons, and foreign exchange earnings grew by 58.7%, to $2 billion 803.223 million UAH.
In 2024, Ukraine imported mineral resources worth $414,000 in a total volume of 2,042 tons, while in 2023, 250 tons of these raw materials were imported worth $135,000. In 2023, exports of raw materials decreased by 26% in real terms compared to 2022, to 17 million 753,165 thousand tons. Foreign exchange earnings amounted to $1 billion 766,906 million (a decrease of 39.3%). A total of 250 tons of raw materials were imported for $135,000.
In January-October of this year, Ukrainian metallurgical companies increased their revenues from ferrous metal exports by 1.5% compared to the same period last year, to $2 billion 705.363 million.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS) on Wednesday, ferrous metals accounted for 8.12% of total export revenues during this period, compared to 7.68% in January-October 2024.
In October, export revenues amounted to $312.781 million, compared to $308.547 million in the previous month.
At the same time, Ukraine increased imports of similar products by 14.5% in January-October 2025, to $1 billion 433.839 million. In October, products worth $136.266 million were imported.
In addition, in January-October 2025, Ukraine reduced exports of metal products by 3.1% to $774.144 million. In October, exports amounted to $81.836 million.
Imports of metal products during this period increased by 16.4% to $1 billion 46.223 million. In October, $145.558 million worth of these products were imported.
As reported, in 2024, Ukrainian metal companies increased their revenues from ferrous metal exports by 16.9% compared to the previous year, to $3 billion 96.343 million. At the same time, Ukraine increased imports of similar products by 13.1% over the past year, to $1 billion 478.814 million.
In 2023, Ukraine reduced its revenues from ferrous metal exports by 41.6% compared to 2022, to $2 billion 647.72 million. Ferrous metals accounted for 7.3% of total revenues from goods exports during this period, while in 2022, the share was 10.3%. At the same time, Ukraine increased imports of similar products by 37% in 2023, to $1 billion 307.05 million.
In addition, in 2023, Ukraine reduced exports of metal products by 16.6% compared to 2022, to $877.92 million. At the same time, imports of metal products increased by 40.3%, to $902.57 million.
According to an analytical report by Relocation, the average price of secondary housing in Spain reached a historic high of €2,555 per square meter in October 2025, which is 15.7% more in annual terms and 1.5% more than in September. In some markets, the growth was even higher: in the province of Malaga, the average price of secondary housing rose to €3,842 per square meter in August, +13.8% year-on-year. The INE’s nationwide housing price index for the second quarter recorded +12.7% year-on-year, with secondary housing rising by 12.8%.
Prices in Spain are being driven by a shortage of supply, high demand in coastal provinces and on the islands, and sustained activity from foreign buyers. According to Relocation, up to 80% of potential buyers face the problem of affordability and a lack of suitable properties, which further pushes prices up.
The leaders in terms of regional dynamics are the Costa del Sol, the Balearic and Canary Islands, and the provinces of Alicante and Valencia. In the large agglomerations of Madrid and Barcelona, demand is sustained by the rental market and limited construction.
Spanish business publications forecast further growth of 4-6% for 2025-2026, with a shortage of new supply on the market.
Romanian law enforcement agencies have detained former senator Marius Ovidiu Isele on suspicion of attempting to bribe Defense Minister Ionut Mosatan with €1 million to facilitate an ammunition deal. According to investigators, the scheme involved purchasing Soviet-style shells in Kazakhstan, importing them, and “rebranding” them in Romania, then selling them through an intermediary in Bulgaria for delivery to Ukraine. This was reported by Radio Liberty, citing investigation materials and participants in the events.
The head of the state-owned company Romtehnica, Razvan Minku, said that he had been approached with a proposal to use his contacts in Kazakhstan to resell ammunition, but he considered the proposal suspicious and refused. The intermediary was politician Octavian Bercian, who contacted law enforcement agencies and made 17 hidden recordings of meetings with Isele. The court imposed a preventive measure on the former senator in the form of 30 days of pre-trial detention.
There are also reports about Bulgarian businessman Roman Ivanov Angelov, the sole owner of Sofia Arm Tech, which received a license for international arms trade in 2024. His whereabouts are unknown, and he has not responded to journalists’ inquiries. The defense minister stated on social media that he had refused any meetings and that the attempt to “buy his influence” had been rejected.
The publication notes that the initiators hoped to attract funds from the European Rearm Europe program to support the defense industry of EU countries in the future, but the scheme remained at the trial stage and was not implemented.
Rearm Europe was launched by the European Commission in March 2025 to stimulate arms production in EU countries. Romtehnica is the authorized intermediary of the Romanian Ministry of Defense for international procurement and sales of arms and military equipment.
The area affected by forest fires in Ukraine has decreased fourfold this year. The area affected by fires in the forests of the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” (excluding the Izyum Forestry) amounted to only 1.5 thousand hectares, compared to 6 thousand hectares in 2024. This was reported by the head of the enterprise, Yuriy Bolokhovets.
According to him, since the beginning of the year, forest fires in the European Union have destroyed more than a million hectares of forest, which is a record for the last twenty years. For example, in Ukraine’s neighbor Romania, 126,000 hectares of forest land have burned down. In Ukraine, military factors are added to the negative climatic factors – a significant proportion of fires are associated with rocket and drone strikes. However, the percentage of forest loss due to fires is an order of magnitude lower than in the EU.
The most problematic remains the Izyum Forestry, which this year included three de-occupied forestries in the Kharkiv region. Last year, almost 13,000 hectares of forest burned down here. After joining the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine,” the company notes that new firefighting equipment and tools were transferred to the forestry enterprises, and the salaries of forest protection workers were increased. As a result, the area affected by fires in the Izyum Forestry was reduced by almost 8 times to 1,800 hectares.
The State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” explains that the reduction in the area affected by fires was achieved thanks to the purchase of new firefighting equipment. This year, dozens of new forest firefighting modules were sent to most of the company’s branches, which are capable of reaching places that large fire trucks cannot access. Recently, new tenders were announced for the purchase of 50 modules to be installed in pickup truck beds and 20 trailer platforms with pre-installed forest firefighting modules.
The salaries of forest protection workers have also been increased by an average of 20%.
Over the past two years, the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” has set up more than 100 new modern recreation centers, the presence of which significantly reduces the risk of fires caused by human factors. Another 50 have been opened this year. According to the company, these are full-fledged complexes for safe leisure in the forest with all the necessary infrastructure (children’s and sports grounds, water, electricity, changing rooms, barbecues, etc.).
In addition, foresters continue to make large-scale investments in firefighting infrastructure. This year, 38,800 km of mineralized strips were installed and 183,400 km of existing ones were maintained. The State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” maintains 3,500 fire reservoirs, equips them with piers, and installs water storage tanks so that even in hot weather, each reservoir has the necessary water supply.
Work is continuing on the purchase and installation of 30 new television surveillance systems and the construction of 24 new observation towers. The goal is to completely cover forest areas with a high risk of fire with a video surveillance system. In total, the company operates almost 500 such towers.
To prevent large-scale fires in the future, Lisy Ukrainy has refused to plant pure coniferous stands, creating exclusively mixed forests of coniferous and deciduous species, which are more resistant to climate change and less vulnerable to fires.
