Global lead and zinc production will exceed demand in 2025 and 2026, according to forecasts by the International Lead and Zinc Study Group (ILZSG).
Refined lead output is expected to increase by 2% this year to 13.34 million tons. This will mainly be driven by increased production in Canada, Germany, India, Mexico, Sweden, and Brazil, while Kazakhstan, the UK, and the US are expected to see a decline in output.
In 2026, global production will grow by 1% to 13.47 million tons due to increased output in Brazil and India, as well as a recovery in Kazakhstan. At the same time, experts predict a decline in China and the UK.
Global lead consumption this year may increase by 1.8% to 13.25 million tons, including 1.8% in Europe, 6.6% in the US, and 0.9% in China. Next year, global demand for the metal is expected to increase by 0.9% to 13.37 million tons, with China seeing a 1.7% decline.
Thus, in 2025, the global market will see a lead surplus of about 91,000 tons, and next year the surplus will increase to 102,000 tons, according to the group’s report.
Global refined zinc production is expected to increase by 2.7% to 13.8 million tons this year.
In particular, production in China will grow by 6.2%. Output is also expected to grow in Norway, where Boliden completed the expansion of the Odda plant’s production capacity by 150,000 tons per year in March. Meanwhile, zinc output is forecast to decline in Italy and Japan due to the closure of Glencore and Toho Zinc plants in these countries, as well as in Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and South Korea.
In 2026, global zinc production will rise by 2.4% to 14.13 million tons. An increase is expected in Brazil, Canada, Norway, and China.
Metal consumption this year may grow by 1.1% to 13.71 million tons. In particular, an increase of 1.3% is expected in China and 0.7% in Europe. Experts also suggest the possibility of an increase in demand in India, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and Vietnam, as well as a decline in Brazil and South Korea.
In 2026, global demand for zinc will increase by 1% to 13.86 million tons. In particular, it will rise by 0.1% in China, with increases also forecast in Europe, Brazil, India, and the US.
The global zinc surplus in 2025 is expected to be 85,000 tons, and next year – 271,000 tons.
ILZSG, established by the UN in 1959, provides information on the supply and demand for zinc and lead and conducts research on the situation in the global markets for these metals. The group’s members include Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Sweden, Turkey, and the United States, as well as the European Union. These countries account for more than 85% of global lead and zinc production and consumption.
DEMAND, LEAD, PRODUCTION, zinc
The number of people from Ukraine seeking protection in Germany has increased significantly in recent weeks, Die Welt reported Wednesday.
The publication writes that the lifting of the travel ban for Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 22 who are fit for military service has led to an increase in the number of asylum requests from this group.
“The number of applications has risen from around 100 per week before these provisions came into force to around 1,000 per week,” a spokeswoman for the Federal Interior Ministry said.
“It is impossible to assess at this point how temporary this phenomenon is,” she added.
According to the information, the total number of people from Ukraine in Germany increased during the summer. According to the Interior Ministry, 7,961 Ukrainians were distributed through the Free registration system in May, 11,277 in August and 18,755 in September. Unlike asylum seekers, protection seekers from Ukraine are granted a residence permit under Article 24 of the Residence Act, which entitles them to immediate access to the labor market and social services.
Losses of world insurers from natural catastrophes in January-September amounted to $105 billion, according to the report of reinsurance broker Gallagher Re. This is below the average for this period for the last ten years, which is $114 billion.
Insurance losses have exceeded the $100 billion mark for the previous five consecutive years. They were also above that level in 2017 and 2018 and dipped just below that mark in 2019 ($98 billion).
The January fires in Los Angeles caused the largest losses at $40 billion, with damage from the Myanmar earthquake in March estimated at $1.7 billion and summer flooding in China at $0.4 billion.
The U.S. accounted for about 86% of global losses in January-September, the report said.
The volume of imports of motorcycles (including mopeds) and bicycles with auxiliary engines to Ukraine in January-September 2025 increased by 46.2% compared to the same period in 2024, reaching $99.57 million, according to statistics from the State Customs Service.
According to the statistics, as in the previous year, most motorcycles were imported from China – in January-September, their imports increased by 71.3% to $68.1 million, but their share in total imports remained almost unchanged compared to January-September 2024 and amounted to 58.3%.
The second largest supplier of motorcycles is Japan, imports from which increased by 49.1% to $15.5 million in the first nine months of this year, and its share in total imports also increased slightly to 15.58%.
Germany remains the third largest exporter of this equipment in terms of volume, with imports to Ukraine remaining at $7.9 million, while its share fell to 8% from 19% last year.
In September, Ukraine imported motorcycles and motorized bicycles worth $7.86 million, which is 54% more than in September 2024.
According to the State Customs Service, in 2024, motorcycles worth $83.8 million were imported into Ukraine, which is 50.3% more than in 2023, including $49.1 million from China.
At the same time, the AUTO-Consulting information and analytical group notes in a publication on its website that in January-September 2025, the market for new motorcycles in Ukraine grew by 20% (excluding deliveries to the front), in particular, by 11% in September.
Analysts note that only two segments are popular in Ukraine: classic or city motorcycles (62% of sales) and enduro (30%).
The sales leader in September was the Chinese Lifan, which was also the leader in April and August of this year, and Spark was the leader for the first nine months.
The death of Arseny Nasikovsky, junior partner of the DIM group of companies, has been announced. The news was reported by Arseny’s father, Alexander Nasikovsky, founder and managing partner of DIM. He noted that all initiatives and projects his son had been working on will be continued by the team and partners.
According to Alexander Nasikovsky, the initiatives that will be continued include:
— NAD (Nasikovskyi Arseniy Development) and ARS Capital — a development company and investment fund involved in affordable housing projects in Ukraine, the Maximus recreational thermal resort in Berehove, as well as commercial real estate projects and a fund to attract investment in the development of these areas.
— ARS Foundation — a charitable foundation that helps orphanages, orphans, and children left without parental care; the foundation provides regular support and is preparing to launch a new format of children’s homes in Ukraine.
— ANiMA — a network of eight wellness resorts in six regions of Ukraine based on the concept of wellness hedonism, each facility with its own history and atmosphere.
— NOVA — a business and travel club for entrepreneurs and conscious people united by a desire for development, discovery of the world, and exchange of ideas; it includes unique itineraries and a community of like-minded people.
The cause of his death has not been specified. Arseniy Nasikovsky played an active role in the company’s operational projects, overseeing construction and investment areas, supporting the development of the DIM brand in residential real estate.
DIM Group is a Ukrainian full-cycle holding company in the field of real estate development, founded in 2014. The holding company unites several legal entities: manufacturing, architectural, and construction companies, a real estate agency, and a management company.
The founder and key figure of the group is Alexander Nasikovsky, who is the managing partner. DIM’s project portfolio covers residential real estate in Kiev and the Kiev region — more than 800,000 m², with a significant part of the properties already commissioned or under construction.
The editorial team expresses its deepest condolences to the family, colleagues, and all who knew and appreciated Arseniy Nasikovsky.
Ukraine will stop clear-cutting of main use in the mountain forests of the Carpathians from 2027 and will switch to selective “re-formation logging”, said the head of the State Agency of Forest Resources of Ukraine Viktor Smal in an exclusive interview with the agency “Interfax-Ukraine”.
“This is a revolution. We have given the industry three years to prepare, train staff and switch to methods closer to natural ones,” he said. According to Smal, the new approach will increase the resilience of ecosystems to climatic and biotic factors and ensure continuous natural regeneration of the forest.
State Forestry Agency: timber stock can grow three times faster with nature-like forestry
The State Agency of Forest Resources of Ukraine is a central executive body coordinating the management, protection, reproduction and rational use of forest resources of the country. The agency supervises more than 70 state enterprises, including the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine”, as well as scientific, conservation and inventory institutions.
