South Korean scrap imports surged 40% in January

SEOUL (Scrap Monster): The scrap imports by South Korea during the month of January 2014 recorded a significant jump. The imports increased by 40.4% year-on-year, as per the latest statistics released by the country’s Ministry of Finance (MoF).

According to MoF data, the country imported 931,000 tons of scrap during the month. The scrap imports crossed 900,000 for the first time since April 2013. The largest scrap exporter to South Korea was the US. The scrap exports by the US totaled 316,000 tons, accounting for more than one-third of the total imports by South Korea.

The second largest scrap exporter to South Korea was Japan. The scrap imports from Japan declined by nearly 26% year-on-year to 274,000 tons. In third place was Russia with total exports of 90,000 tons. The South Korean imports of scrap from Russia were up almost 42% year-on-year during January.

The South Korean scrap imports had soared during the month of December last year. The country’s total scrap imports during the month had amounted to 861,000 tons, 42% higher when compared with the imports during December 2012. The scrap imports from the US had jumped significantly higher by 224.5% to 269,000 tons during the month. The largest scrap exporter to South Korea during December was Japan, whose exports had dropped by 22.3% year-on-year to 310,000 tons in December 2013.

The total scrap imports by South Korea during the entire year 2013 had declined by 8.6% year-on-year. The country’s scrap imports during the year had totaled 9.25 million tons.