The Economic Development and Trade Ministry of Ukraine is drawing up a draft law on increasing the export duty on scrap metal, Minister Aivaras Abromavicius said in Kyiv on Wednesday.

"We're working on the draft law," he said.

At present, the ministry issues quotas to scrap metal exporters. Abromavicius said that the issuing of quotas is part of deregulation policy, and that the number of quotas issues should be regulated by the size of the duty.

"At present, the duty is EUR 10 per tonne. It should be increased and the quotas should be removed," the minister said.

He said that the duty of EUR 15 per tonne suits scrap metal exporters, while Ukrainian metal companies want a duty of EUR 30 per tonne.

"We should find a compromise," he said.

The minister pointed out the difficult situation on the global market, adding that Ukrainian metal companies smelted less than was planned and bought less scrap metal from scrap metal producers.