Indonesia Declares Temporary Embargo on Scrap Imports

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The notice issued by the Indonesian government says that that country has decided to place a temporary moratorium on all scrap imports. All inspections have been suspended until further notice. The announcement comes amidst the country’s new import regulations, which are due to take effect on November 23^rd.

Under the new policy, regulated scrap items will be classified into separate groups. Accordingly, scrap metals including ferrous, aluminium and copper scrap will be categorized as waste and will be subject to comply with the new regulation.

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The new policy bans transhipments of scrap. Only direct shipments from the originating country to Indonesia, without any stops in between will be allowed. Essentially, cargoes must be shipped directly from the port of origin in foreign country to destination port in Indonesia. Further, scrap imports are limited to eight ports- Tanjung Priok, Tanjung Emas, Tanjung Perak, Soekarno Hatta, Belawan, Batu Ampar, Teluk Lamong and Peacock.

Meantime, industry participants still await clarity on impurities thresholds prescribed by the new policy. Although initial reports suggested 0% threshold, trade groups expect initial threshold level of 2%, which will be reduced to 0.5% in due course. The confusions are likely to impact scrap flows, market sources said.

The latest trade data published by the Indonesian government authorities indicate that the country’s scrap imports surged higher by 14% over the previous year to total 1.85 million mt during the initial nine months of 2019.