Brassware Makers Hit A Goldmine In Russia Defence Junkyard

Brass scrap from defused Russian artillery shells has become a hot import item with the artefacts, bathroom fittings, and even precision parts industries preferring it for its purity, rigidity and low cost.

According to a leading importer of brass scrap from Russia, a major re-rolling industry has sprung up in Russia's Kamchatka peninsula where artillery shells are flattened and shipped to India, Korea, Taiwan, China and North-Africa.

After the collapse of the erstwhile Soviet Union, millions of tonnes of shells, bullets, and gun casings made of brass were rendered waste with the Russian government designating a site in Kamchatka as a dumping ground. A German company, Myers, later hired a disused shipyard where the shells were defused, their charge removed and the shells flattened. The flattened shells, which resemble medium-size plates, have extremely high quality metal content. The importer takes orders from major brassware industry locations like Moradabad and Agra besides smaller pockets in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Bulk orders are placed with the Russian supplier who delivers the goods in about 40 days. The importer said his business had trebled over the last year from 70 tonnes to 220 tonnes.

One reason for the burgeoning demand is the enormous price differential between prime brass and the quality scrap from Russia. While the former costs about Rs 1.2 lakh per tonne, the price of the latter works out to about Rs 80,000 per tonne after paying a 51 per cent import duty.

According to Customs data, 50,000 tonnes of brass scrap was brought in last year from Russia, Eastern and Western Europe. The Indian re-rerolling industry has emerged as one of the largest markets for brass scrap as domestic production is insufficient to meet demand.

The importer said agents of Russian firms regularly visit Indian consumption centres to take orders with the focus on selling arms and ammunition reducing considerably. Consignments are landed in Bombay port at a cost and freight value of about Rs 60,000.

He said one of his consignments had been held up as a few live bullets were found in one package whose destination was a foundry in Chandigarh. Even though the live bullets were only a handful in a consignment weighing several tonnes, the Customs were unwilling to accept it as an error while compacting, he rued.