India Is the World’s Second Largest Scrap Importer
The scrap imports by the country have surged higher by almost 35% during H1 2019 to total 3.87 million tonnes (Mt).
SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): India emerged as the second largest ferrous scrap importing country in the first six-month period of 2019, next to Turkey.
The scrap imports by the country have surged higher by almost 35% during H1 2019 to total 3.87 million tonnes (Mt). The top scrap suppliers to the country were the UAE and UK, whose supplies totaled 711,544t and 530,104t respectively. The shipments from the above countries were up by 27% and 117% respectively. On the contrary, the scrap shipments from the U.S. witnessed a decline of 7% over the previous year to total 301,330t.
Meantime, the South Korean scrap imports totaled 3.63 Mt from January to June in 2019, higher by 11% compared with H1 2018. According to Customs statistics, the scrap imports from Japan held steady at 2.2 Mt. The imports from the U.S. almost tripled to total 689,876t. The scrap shipments from Russia dropped significantly by 20% to 388,132t.
The world’s largest scrap importer, Turkey, witnessed huge slowdown in scrap imports. The ongoing economic slowdown coupled with drop in demand for rebar exports impacted scrap flows into the country. The Turkish scrap imports totaled 9.01 Mt in H1 2019, down by 16% when compared with the corresponding six-month period in 2018.
All major suppliers of scrap to Turkey including the U.S., UK, Russia and Belgium reported notable decline in shipments. The imports from the U.S. dropped by 18%, whereas those from the UK were down by 24%. Russia and Belgium recorded declines in supplies by 27% and 43% respectively.