OREANDA-NEWS  This year, imports of Russian nickel to Finland have sharply increased by 60 percent compared to last year, Yle TV channel reported, citing statistics from the Finnish customs.

The Republic buys more than 160 million euros worth of nickel from Russia every month. This one metal accounts for two-thirds of all imports to Finland from Russia. The Finnish railway company VR Group plans to stop cargo transportation to Russia by the end of the year, the Estonian company Operail AS will be engaged in the transportation of metal from Russia.

In November, the London Metal Exchange (LME) decided not to impose a ban on the supply of metals from Russia. The LME was interested in the opinion of traders on this topic. The decision of the participants depended on whether trade in Russian products would continue, whether restrictions on the volume of supplies would be imposed or whether shipments of Russian metals to the warehouses of the exchange would be prohibited.

In April, experts warned that the global economy was on the verge of a shortage of basic industrial metals — stocks of aluminum, copper, nickel and zinc fell to critically low levels. Over the past year, their volume has decreased by 70 percent.