Lithuanian scrap metal wholesaler Kuusamet is accused of illegal competition in Latvia due to its proposed above-average purchase prices for metal, Lithuanian business news portal Verslo zinios reports. /nginx/o/2022/04/25/14508032t1h253e.jpg)
Scrap metal. Photo: Arvo Meeks
Lithuanian scrap metal wholesaler Kuusamet is accused of illegal competition in Latvia due to its proposed above-average purchase prices for metal, Lithuanian business news portal Verslo zinios reports.
The portal quotes Jochen Klein, advisor to the Association of Scrap Metal Recyclers of the Baltic States, who told the Latvian publication Dienas bizness that Kuusamet's subsidiary in Latvia, Refonda, offers illogically high purchase prices for ferrous scrap, which are unprofitable for the company and which are covered by the main shareholder.
According to him, by acting in this way in Estonia, the Lithuanian company forced several smaller companies out of the market, and, taking their place, reduced prices to average.
In turn, Ramunas Budris, a business consultant for another scrap metal buying company, Metruna, managed by the same shareholders as Kuusamet, told the portal that the Lithuanian capital company operates more efficiently and has lower costs, and the Latvian association may be too biased in its presentation interests of one of the largest scrap metal exporters in Latvia. He assured that Refonda operates profitably in Latvia.
According to Verslo zinios, Kuusamet and Metruna own 28 scrap metal purchasing sites in Lithuania, one in Latvia and eight in Estonia.
According to the Lithuanian Register Center, last year Kuusamet earned 8.8 times less net profit than in 2022 (81.4 thousand euros), while Metruna's net profit in 2023 increased by 2% to 3.97 million euros.
