# Lead scrap – Bulgaria

> A picture of the market – not a commercial recommendation.

Buyers of lead scrap in Bulgaria according to the Companies register, and the lead scrap trade of the country in 2015–2025 (Eurostat Comext).

- Data as of: 2026-11-04, version 2.49
- Page: https://www.ai-waw.com/en/recycling/lead/bulgaria
- Search buyers with this country set: https://www.ai-waw.com/en/recycling?metal=pb&country=BG
- imports 2025: 7,057 t (+113.5% y/y); exports 2025: – t; import unit value 2025 – from declarations, not a market price: 1,072 EUR/t

## Buyers in the country (3)

| Company | Plant | Type of buyer | Accepted grades | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [ELBAT AD](https://www.ai-waw.com/en/companies/elbat-ad.md) | Dolna Banya – lead-acid battery recycling, smelting in rotary furnaces, lead refining and lead alloys, Dolna Banya | smelter | grades not established in the register documents | [B] Company website – Technologies (breaking, paste desulphurisation, smelting, refining) |
| [KCM AD](https://www.ai-waw.com/en/companies/kcm-ad.md) | Plovdiv – zinc and lead smelter, Plovdiv | smelter | pb-akumulatory | [A] KCM AD, notification of the project “Technological integration of KCM AD” to RIOSV Plovdiv (2021), pp. 2–3 – capacities permitted and target (134 kt Zn, 100 kt Pb) |
| [Monbat Recycling EAD](https://www.ai-waw.com/en/companies/monbat-recycling-ead.md) | Montana – lead-acid battery recycling, production of lead and lead alloys, Montana | smelter | pb-akumulatory | [A] Monbat AD – Annual Consolidated Financial Statements and Management Report 31.12.2025 |

## Scrap trade

Imports and exports of scrap (total: within the EU and with non-EU countries), balance and unit value from trade declarations.

| Year | Imports (t) | Exports (t) | Balance (t) | Import unit value (EUR/t) | Export unit value (EUR/t) |
|---|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| 2015 | 16,484 | 97.9 | -16,386 | 1,646 | 1,583 |
| 2016 | 17,827 | 179 | -17,648 | 1,766 | 1,371 |
| 2017 | 14,466 | 4,112 | -10,354 | 2,154 | 2,141 |
| 2018 | 16,050 | 3,825 | -12,225 | 1,864 | 2,128 |
| 2019 | 16,435 | 2,650 | -13,785 | 1,867 | 1,700 |
| 2020 | 10,202 | 248 | -9,954 | 1,583 | 1,190 |
| 2021 | 15,422 | 1.40 | -15,421 | 1,950 | 1,539 |
| 2022 | 34,843 | – | -34,843 | 1,278 | – |
| 2023 | 11,705 | 2,766 | -8,940 | 1,864 | 2,380 |
| 2024 | 3,306 | – | -3,306 | 1,015 | – |
| 2025 | 7,057 | – | -7,057 | 1,072 | – |
| 2026 (incomplete year) | 6,480 | – | -6,480 | 1,151 | – |

Unit value (EUR/t) – value divided by mass from trade declarations (Comext); an approximation of the price level, not a market price.

- Largest scrap suppliers (2025): Romania 2,132 t, Israel 1,871 t, Netherlands 1,310 t, Algeria 659 t, Italy 524 t
- Largest scrap destinations (2025): –

## Spent lead-acid batteries – separate series

Spent lead-acid batteries – 8548 10 21 (2015–2021), 8549 11 10 and 8549 11 90 (from 2022). From 2022 the series also includes waste and scrap of batteries (8549 11 90) – years before and after 2022 are not fully comparable. Battery mass, not lead content.

| Year | Imports (t) | Exports (t) | Balance (t) |
|---|---:|---:|---:|
| 2015 | 22,195 | 1,981 | -20,214 |
| 2016 | 17,528 | 5,133 | -12,396 |
| 2017 | 26,447 | – | -26,447 |
| 2018 | 19,064 | 42.8 | -19,022 |
| 2019 | 28,245 | 3,162 | -25,083 |
| 2020 | 35,106 | – | -35,106 |
| 2021 | 38,624 | – | -38,624 |
| 2022 (break in series) | 31,292 | 1,557 | -29,735 |
| 2023 | 50,016 | 1,095 | -48,920 |
| 2024 | 99,988 | 182 | -99,805 |
| 2025 | 84,584 | – | -84,584 |
| 2026 (incomplete year) | 57,969 | – | -57,969 |

Straight-line distance (great circle) from the shipping point – not road distance.

Pages of the Recycling tab and their Markdown versions: text and data mining (including model training) allowed with attribution (ai-waw.com). Data files (.json, .csv, .xlsx) are reserved (Art. 4(3) Directive (EU) 2019/790), like the data files of the Companies register.